The Pregnancy Chronicles: Jules
by laura-maeve
Summary: Jacob and Nessie Black are enjoying parenthood with their first son, William. Now, they're pregnant with their second child, a baby girl. As they deal with a challenge they hadn't had with the first pregnancy, other couples in the pack are also suffering from baby fever. A baby boom of their own is well on its way as Nessie readies to welcome her daughter to the family.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, guys! As promised...JULES! And I did change her first name. You'll see in this chapter. I'm so excited. And a little tidbit about the third story? They won't be staying in Forks for the pregnancy! How intense is that? Does it make you drool, wanting more? Me, too! Anywhozzle! I really love Jake in this chapter. Every woman wants a man like that to father her kids. I mean, ****_damn_****! So hot. Oh, oh, oh...Leah and Caden are in this chapter. Kind of sad what they talk about, but I feel it's kind of necessary.**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

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**April**

**JPOV**

We were pregnant again. Four months to be exact. But this baby was growing a lot faster than our son, William. He'd progressed at a normal rate, a full nine months even though he was now developing faster outside the womb. He was eating foods that were a month or so advanced for eight months old, trying to talk, and crawling. The coffee table and our legs had become his favorite tools to help him try to stand.

But this new baby, a baby girl, was cooking fast. Nessie looked like she was six months pregnant rather than four. Almost as soon as we'd found out the sex, she was having to wear her further-along maternity clothes or my sweats and hoodies.

We were currently sitting on the couch in our normal way: her back against the arm of the couch, feet in my lap while I sat with my feet on the coffee table. The only difference from before was that our son was sitting pinned between the bar of his mother's legs and the back cushion. He was currently banging his sippy cup against her knees. She didn't seem to mind.

"Well," I said to her while she glowered, "at least you're not craving blood as much as you did with him."

She growled. Will laughed, his honey brown eyes staring up at her adoringly. Definitely going to be a momma's boy. He loved her.

On reflex, she reached out to rub her hand over his dark hair. "Yeah well, I'm blowing up too fast. I'm going to get stretch marks." I felt bad for the blackberry she viciously pulverized with those teeth. "Seriously, what was in your little soldiers this time?"

I choked on the water I'd been trying to drink. She was glaring at me and pulverizing another blackberry.

"Well?"

"What, you want me to answer that? How do you know it was my...me? Maybe that egg inside you was a super egg. Don't blame me."

She crossed her arms over her very swollen belly. "You don't have to be pregnant. I'm blaming everything on you."

Tilting my glass at her, I smirked. "Takes two to tango, baby."

Her heel dug into my thigh, painfully close to my balls.

I jumped. "Hey! Watch the equipment, woman."

"Why?" she asked dryly. "I've seen it before...in action."

I spluttered again.

Will giggled up at his mother.

I glared down at him playfully and then scooped him up, standing him on Nessie's shins. "Traitor. You won't be laughing when you piss off some girl and she makes a not so nice crotch shot."

Will laughed and shook his arms excitedly, the sippy cup catching me on the temple a couple times. Nessie was laughing while she watched us. Despite her grouchiness, she was excited about another addition to our family. My sister, Rachel, was six months pregnant with her first baby, a girl, too. She constantly said that it wasn't fair that Nessie got pregnant after her and would meet her daughter sooner, but I could tell she was kidding, that she was happy her pregnancy was progressing normally. I was happy, too, because I wasn't sure Rachel would be able to handle an abnormally fast-growing baby and all the pressures to get things ready.

We were already prepared after having one baby. Will was still in the nursery paralleling our closet, but we would move him up to the nursery I'd already put together for him on the third floor so our daughter could sleep in the nursery downstairs with us. Will was pretty good about sleeping through the night and we'd want our newborn close by to be able to reach her faster. If the baby kept growing at the rate she was, Carlisle expected her to arrive around the end of June or early July. Not very long at all. She'd be born before our son turned a year old. If our kids went to public school instead of home-schooled, we'd have to say that we got pregnant with her almost immediately after Will was born, like the month that we were cleared to start having sex again.

Like the husband and father I was, I worried about the fast development and the health of my wife and daughter. But Carlisle had assured me that both Nessie and our baby girl were perfectly healthy. I worried anyway. But despite that, Nessie still forced me to go to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so that she and Will could have their play dates with Emily and Shelby. She didn't want this pregnancy to be like the first one where she didn't leave the house. Instead, on days that I wasn't at work, we'd take walks around the rez with Will. He loved the beach and all the pebbles, but he was in that stage where he wanted to put everything in his mouth just because he could and liked to worry us. I cold already see that mischievous little glint in his eyes. He'd probably be mommy's little angel and daddy's little devil.

But looking at him now, all I could see in him _was _his mother, despite the dark skin and hair. The honey-colored eyes reminded me of Nessie even though hers were milk chocolate like Bella's. He just reminded me of his mother because of how much I loved him, how much I'd loved him from the moment Carlisle had first put him in our arms. I would do anything for my son, just as I would do anything for his mother. And soon, his little sister.

A sharp pinch on my arm brought me out of my thoughts.

"Ouch." I looked over at Nessie.

She shook her head. "Wasn't me. Your son needs his nails clipped again. But what were you thinking about so hard?"

Letting Will go a little, he leaned forward against my chest, head held back as his hands searched my face. "Something like holding him for the first time with you was like me imprinting on you. I loved him immediately, more than I thought I had while you were pregnant with him. And how much I'm going to love this little girl."

Grinning, she rubbed her belly. "Yeah, me too. It's weird. Even though I had the dream, I could picture us more with a bunch of boys. Having a girl just seems...foreign."

I laughed. "Maybe to you, but I've always wanted a little girl. For my mom, you know?"

"Well, with her impending birth approaching, we should start looking at names."

Her tone told me that she'd already been thinking about it. "Any ideas?"

She shrugged. "I was thinking about the dream. In it, you called her Jules. So...maybe that was a nickname. Julie?"

Mulling it over, I shook my head. "No, I don't like that one."

"Julia?"

"Something longer than the nickname. That's what a nickname is for. Like 'Jake' for 'Jacob'."

She gave me a look. "Really? 'Jacob' is only one letter longer than 'Jake'. Anyways, I refuse to name my daughter Juliette."

I made a face. "Totally agree with that. Naming my daughter after a suicidal teenager just doesn't do it for me." Will took the opportunity to shove his hand in my mouth and grip my teeth. Giving him a look while he giggled, I pulled it out, sputtering. "That is disgusting, son. I don't know where your hands have been." He just laughed. After rolling my eyes, I gripped his tiny hands and sobered up. "I'd like to try to name her after my mom in some way."

We'd already named Will after Billy and Edward. If we had anymore kids, we'd run out of names.

"Oh, I've had that covered for ages. I just did what my mom did. I'm not negotiating on the middle name."

I looked at her. "What your mom did?"

"Combined their names. Sarabella."

I had to be the most emotional man on the planet because I was suddenly swallowing past a lump in my throat. "When did you come up with that?"

She smiled like she knew I was fighting emotion. "I think it was before Will was born. I just know that's what her middle name will be. What about Julianna for her first name?"

Holding onto Will's arms and pulling him away from my body, I held him while he bounced his legs. It was good exercise for him from what I was told, helped him build up his muscles so he could walk. "I don't know. I mean, I like it. I just don't know how it sounds with Sarabella."

She said it a few times out loud, testing it. Then she shook her head. "Yeah, you're right. It sounds weird. Doesn't roll right. Damn, I liked that one, too."

We lapsed into silence, a small frown between her eyebrows. She looked down at her belly and contemplated. I was more interested in playing with Will. Scooting out from under her legs, I went to lay down on the floor, putting Will on his back, my arms framing him as I rested on my elbows. He gurgled up at me, his four little teeth gleaming.

Making faces at him between raspberries on his tummy, he put his hands on my face while he laughed and giggled. Eventually, he got tired of being on his back. So I watched as he rolled over, putting his hands and legs under him. And then he was off, crawling and sliding over the hardwood floors. Unfortunately, he went for the fireplace. Always the fireplace.

Going up on my own hands and knees, I crawled after him. "No, no," I said and turned him around. Wrapping my arm around him, I set him on his feet so he could see Ness over the coffee table. Pointing, I said, "See Mommy? Go get Mommy."

His face broke out in a grin as she smiled excitedly at him. Laughing again, he sank down to the floor and crawled for the couch. Our coffee table was a big open space underneath so he could move under it. He did. Once he got to the couch, he used it to pull himself up on his feet.

Nessie clapped. "Yay! You did it. That's my big boy."

She picked him up and sat him down on her thighs, his legs on each side of her belly. Since he was still a little uncoordinated and tended to hit too hard, she held his wrists as she put his hands to her tummy. We both watched his face. Apparently, the baby was moving. It was confirmed when Will's face exploded with joy. Ness let his hands go and he started clapping, a move that made his whole body jump.

Crawling around, I moved to kneel beside the couch. Pressing my palm on her lower abdomen, I only had to wait a few seconds before I felt my daughter kick or punch.

Nessie winced. "She always gets active when you come closer or when you talk."

I grinned. "Daddy's little girl already."

"Oh hush," she said not unkindly, a small smile stretching her lips. "What about Julene?"

"Huh?"

"Her name. Julene. It's different; haven't heard it a million times."

"Hmmm, Julene Sarabella Black." I grinned. "I like it." Leaning down over Nessie's stomach, I said, "What do you think?" and pressed my ear to her lower belly.

To my complete surprise, the baby kicked again, three times in quick succession. Will dropped forward to wrap himself around my face, his hands in my hair. With my mouth pressed to his stomach, I blew a raspberry against him. He laughed and I felt him turn his head so that he was using me as a pillow. If it was as cute as I though it was...yep. Sure enough, I heard Nessie's phone click as she took a picture.

Giggling, she said, "I think that name is a winner, for both brother and sister."

Moving so that my lips were pressed to her stomach, I whispered, "Hello, Jules. My baby girl."

**RPOV**

Surprisingly, I was no longer fond of pregnancy. I just wanted my little girl in my arms, growing up with her big brother. I guessed I was turning into Shelby with her obvious lack of patience. Rachel, however, loved pregnancy. I told her to wait until she was as big as a beach ball, and _then _she could tell me she loved it.

Shelby and Seth were still trying for a second as well as Sam and Emily. Every couple I knew was trying for a baby, even Leah and Caden. I was rooting for them to be next. I'd started going with my gut feelings about things. Every time I thought of the next pregnant couple, I always imagined them. They deserved it.

"I gotta go to the shop for a couple hours tomorrow," Jake whispered while he rocked Will to sleep in the doorway of the nursery.

Our son was slowing down on his sucking of the pacifier, an indicator that he was close to being down for the count. He was curled up against his father's chest, fingers gripping the collar of his t-shirt. Jacob was rubbing slow circles on his back, looking exhausted himself. He'd had a long day at work, running back and forth, towing vehicles that had slipped off the road in the bad rain we'd had the other day. And then he'd come home and made dinner for us. Will and I had napped late and overslept.

Pulling back the covers on the bed, I crawled in, my body tired and achy. "Why?"

"I can't remember if I ordered some parts. And the place we have to order them from will only take an order from the store manager or assistant manager, not an afternoon manager or head mechanic. If I have to order them, I shouldn't be gone too long. I won't stay longer than two hours. Promise."

I nodded and rested back against the headboard. "That's fine. Thank you for dinner tonight. Sorry I didn't have it ready."

He gave me a look. "You need to rest and stop pushing yourself. This pregnancy is different, and I don't mind taking care of you, okay? You're a full time mommy and baby-grower. I just fix cars. Your job is more important so I'll help where I can. You know that. If I come home and you and Will are napping, I know better than to wake you up."

The pacifier fell from Will's mouth to land in the crook of Jacob's arm.

"I think he's out," I whispered. "Make sure that wolf is somewhere near him. Somehow he knows when it's not."

He nodded as he went to put our son in his crib for the night. I rolled toward the night stand to turn on the baby monitor. From the screen, I watched as Jacob put him down, kissed his forehead, and put the stuffed wolf in the bottom corner of the crib. The nightlight we had ran on a timer and it clicked on just as Jacob was closing the door.

Jacob stripped down and crawled into bed, wrapping his arms around me. "I think rocking him to sleep actually started putting me to sleep."

Laughing, I stroked my hand up his arm and managed to wiggle my other arm up so I could play with his hair. "Should I start rocking you to sleep."

Chuckling low and deep with sleep, he shook his head. "Nah, just keep doing that to head and I'll be snoring in no time."

Gently, I rubbed my nails over his scalp. Leaning forward, he kissed my jaw before falling to my shoulder and sinking into sleep. I followed not long after.

**CadenPOV**

All the babies. Nessie was pregnant again, to nobody's surprise. And now Rachel was pregnant. Seemed like the Black family had some kind of super reproduction organs. Of course, all the women wanted babies. Well, maybe not Morgan. She was still getting used to all the "sick lovey-dovey" stuff.

Leah and I had also started trying even though I was still heavily guilt-ridden about my dead children. But Leah was helping me through that. It was a part of my past, my history. As many times as I'd watched the Lion King because of Brayden, my godson and nephew-in-law, I learned one thing from it. Sometimes bad things happen, and there's nothing you can do about it. In Simba's case, that wasn't true. But it was in mine. I couldn't bring my dead family back, and I'd killed the bastard that had killed them. If the world had been a perfect place, the past shouldn't still be a jagged ache in my gut. It should be flat like the pages of a history book. Instead, I lived with the thought that I was trying to replace, erase, what I'd had and lost.

"Den! Den!"

Something nudged my side. It was Leah.

"Huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Brayden wants you."

Looking down, I saw that, indeed, Brayden was standing at my knees, patting my leg, trying to crawl up onto the couch. When he saw that I was looking at him, he held up his arms. A silent plea for me to pick him up. I did so and sat him in my lap. He leaned back against my chest, eyes on the tv while he drank from his sippy cup. It amazed me to think that that was all he wanted, just to get into my lap and watch his movie. It also amazed me that I was around children once more. I'd always felt that after I lost my own, I'd lost my right to be near another child again. Leah could see this because she smiled at me and cuddled up to my side, pulling her legs up under her.

We'd taken Brayden to give Seth and Shelby a little more space. They were trying for another baby and found it was difficult with Brayden around. He could walk and talk, so they sometimes didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone even in a playpen. The only time they could really be together alone was at night or when someone offered to take him for a while. So we offered to take him for the night to let them have more than just a couple hours.

When the movie ended, Brayden was fast asleep, slumped against my stomach, the sippy cup hanging from him his fingers limply. While I turned off the tv and the entertainment system, she picked him up and went to get him ready for bed. Even though, when we'd first started keeping him, she'd dressed him in his favorite pajamas, we'd come to find out that he'd strip down to his diaper at night if he became too hot. We'd asked Shelby and found out that she'd started cracking his window at night because he liked the sounds of the woods. Probably the crickets lulling him to sleep. We'd started opening the window as well. No clothes on the floor in the morning. And Leah had been able to pack away her old crib when he got big enough for a twin bed with a bar.

She came back into the room after I'd gotten into bed. With him in the house, we stayed dressed at night so I was sleeping in a pair of boxers. Leah stripped down to her underwear before slipping on one of my huge t-shirts.

Sliding in beside me, she looked down at me. "Every time he comes over you change your mind about wanting kids again."

Startled, I looked at her.

She shook her head, her stare hard. "Don't look at me like that. I can see it when you look at him, or any of the kids. You don't think you deserve it." Turning her back to me, she punched her pillow and laid down. "And frankly, it's starting to piss me off. I understand that you miss them, Caden. Really, I do, but baby, I can't keep participating in your pity party. I want kids. I want to try, and now, once he goes home, it's going to take me two weeks to even get you to touch me again."

From experience, I knew her eyes weren't closed. She was glaring at the bedside lamp or the floor. Her shoulders were tense, body rigid. It always stunned me how well she could read me, even when I didn't say anything or try to lie to her.

Rolling over to face her back, I planted my elbow on the pillow and my head in my palm. "Leah, luv, I just-"

"I don't want explanations or excuses, okay? I know all of them. But what it really is, is that you can't let go. You want Alora back, not just the kids. You miss her. She was the mother of your children. But you know what? I'm not her. I can't _be_ her."

"I'm not asking you to. Is that what you're angry about? That you think I want you to be her, to be someone you're not?"

Moving her head, she glared at me over her shoulder. "Well, it is, isn't it?"

"No, it's not. True, I loved her. I did. And I thought we were going to be together and raise our children for a long time. I never expected to end up across the ocean to be in this bed with another woman. Ever. But it happened and here I am. I love you, Leah."

"You might love me, but you won't let yourself be happy with me. And I can't live like that." Her voice lost its edge and became quiet. "Maybe we should separate for a while."

I froze where I was, heart dropping into my stomach. "What?"

"You heard me. Live separately."

"And where do you propose I go?"

For some reason, fear pounded through me. The wolf inside me hunkered down, whining. We were losing her, our true mate. As connected with him as I was, I knew he was blaming me. Not so much in those terms since he was a wolf and didn't understand the blame game, but he held me responsible because of my human hang-ups. He'd already let go of the loss of our mate and young long ago.

She let out a shaky breath, as if she were upset that she even had to say it. I heard her swallow hard before she said, "I don't know. Maybe Walker will have a place for guests with his pack."

Without thinking about it, I moved closer to her, molding my body against hers. The only reason she didn't pull away was that I'd surprised her. When she made to get out of the bed, I wrapped my arm around her waist.

Desperately, I said, "Leah, I don't want to leave. I need you."

She went still in my arms but stayed tense. "Do you really think I want you gone? I'm not saying that we won't see each other. It's just that you being here, living here, sets the precedent that you want to make a home with me, a family. But that's not going to happen when you keep beating yourself up about the past. Look, I know it's not the same thing, but back before I phased and Sam left me for Emily, I didn't know about imprinting. He couldn't tell me. And I did some pretty stupid, desperate things to try to get him back. I tried to break them apart. I regret those actions. But I've let them go. They don't define who I am. They define a piece of my past. I learned and I moved on. You need to do the same thing."

"I can't live without you."

"You did before."

Again, I went up on my elbow to look down at her. "Yes, before I ever met you. Now, I...I just can't. Please. Don't send me away. I don't want to try to guilt you, but Leah, you don't know how...unbearable...I'll be if you send me off. And it won't be deliberate. I'll go crazy, as will the wolf. Even if it's only a couple minutes away. You don't know how much you help me."

"Clearly it's not enough. You need the kind of help that I can't give you. Maybe you should see Carlisle. I know he's not officially that kind of doctor but he's helping my brother."

"You mean a therapist."

"Yes. I know you hate the idea, but underneath the fact that you're a werewolf, you still suffered a huge loss. Even human men would need a therapist after the deaths of their families. And some of those men that don't get help go crazy." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And I don't want that to be you."

Ah. Now I knew. She wasn't angry. She was scared and worried. Leaning forward, I kissed her shoulder. "If I were to agree to start seeing Carlisle -_if_- would you still want me to go?"

For a long moment, she thought about it. "You'd be doing something to help yourself, to help heal. And you'd need support. So...no. I'd help you. Even go with you if you wanted me to. But you'd have to really try, not just go because I won't kick you out."

"Luv, I wouldn't offer to do something I hate and go through all that just to fake it."

Rolling over toward my bedside table, I reached for my phone. While I wrote out the text, eyes adjusting to the sudden light, I heard Leah move behind me.

"What are you doing?"

I hit the send button before answering. "Texting Carlisle." Her sharp gasp brought my attention to her. Laying back down on my back, I stared up at her, moving her short hair behind her ear. "I told you. I love you. And as much as I hate the thought of therapy, you're right. I'm not getting better. I should be in the same mental state as my wolf, ready to mate you and have young with you. I truly thought I was but again, you're right. I draw away after interacting with the kids. Sometimes, after failing to protect my children, I feel that I don't have a right to be near any at all let alone have my own again."

Tears shimmering in her eyes, she leaned down to kiss me. "And that's what you need to tell him. I love you so much, Caden. You just don't understand how lonely it was for so many years having to watch all these wolves who phased after me to be imprinting and starting families. To watch Sam and Emily, even though I was also strangely happy for them. And now I have you. I'll do anything to help you. I'll go to Carlisle with you or let you talk to me about it until my ears fall off. Talk to me about her, about your son if it would help you. I know you say it won't be fair to me, but if Carlisle thinks it'll help you heal, then I can take it, fair or not. Besides, if we're going to be mates for a long time, then I should know about you and you about me. _That's _what's fair."

Smiling up at her, I said, "Should I just get 'Leah's always right' tattooed on me somewhere that the world can see it?"

Chuckling, she sank down in the blankets and wrapped her arms around me, her ear against my heart. "Nah. Just keep telling it to me behind closed doors. I'll treat it like foreplay."

I kissed the top of her head. "You know, I think if Alora were still alive, and something had happened where you and I still met, she would like you. And she wouldn't have hated me for yearning for you. She'd encourage me to leave her to be with you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. As long as I raised my children, stayed in their lives, she would have accepted it as merely a fact. A fact that you and I are supposed to be together. Because make no doubt, I would yearn for you. I'd ache for you. Even being away from you for a little while is difficult, and not just for the sex." She laughed against my skin. "When you get pregnant, don't be surprised if I never leave you alone, if I wait outside the bathroom for you. I'll become a thousand times worse than Jacob was with Nessie during her first pregnancy."

"'When'?" she whispered.

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "When. It will happen, Leah. I promise."

Her small hand came up to stroke my chest. "Don't make promises you can't keep. First, let's just work on getting you better, okay?"

Reaching up, I laced my fingers with hers over my chest. The other was stroking her back. "Alright, luv. That I can promise you. I promise that I will get better. For you. For our future."

There weren't anymore words from her, but after a moment, I felt the slow, steady drip of her tears on my skin.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys are great! This chapter absolutely tugged at my heart for Caden. So beware. And seeing as how we already know the little quirks of pregnancy for Nessie, I'm incorporating life happening around them. Also, something good for those of you who wanted to see more of Nessie in Will. I hope I did it justice.**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**RPOV**

A knock on the door had me exasperated while I was racing after my son as he crawled around the floor.

"Coming!" I called.

Finally, I caught up to him when he was using the coffee table to stand. Scooping him up and positioning him on my hip so that he's not pressing on the baby, I went for the door. The person on the other side surprised me.

Blinking in the fresh sunlight, I said, "Leah?"

A sheepish look crossed her face, her hands stuffed into her pockets. "Hey, Ness." She looked anxious.

"Hi! Come on in. Sorry for the mess. We just woke up from our nap and he's on the move."

She walked in and looked around and smiled. "It's fine. He's cute enough to get away with it."

That made me laugh. Brushing his hair with my fingers, I said, "Yeah and I think he knows he's got his dad's looks."

Will reached a hand out for her. Smiling she played with that hand. He gripped her finger, not allowing her pull back. "He looks like you, too. The facial structure."

"Aww, thanks, Leah. So what's up?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you...in confidence."

"Oh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's about Caden. But I really want only you to know. Not Jake."

"Oh, um..."

Sighing, she sank down on the couch, her head in her hands. "I know you don't like to keep things from Jake, but this has nothing to do with him. At all. It's just a relationship issue and I need another woman to talk to."

There was no way to deny her. Leah never went to other people to talk. She wasn't that type of woman. And if she said it didn't involve Jake, then I believed her. After putting Will in the playpen with a few of his toys and freshly-filled sippy cup, I sat down next to her, folding my shirt under my bump.

Reaching over, I gripped her wrist. "Alright. I promise to keep it in confidence. Now spill."

Choking out a laugh, she started off with "We had a fight last night. I told him we should live separately for a while."

Without thought, I gasped. "What? Why?"

"Every time one of the kids comes around or wants to be with him, like Brayden, he gets distant from me after they go home. He doesn't feel like he deserves to be around kids let alone have his own again. And I'm pretty much telling you everything I said last night. But, he lives with me but it's like he doesn't want to make a home with me. I can't handle that."

"Well of course not. Is this about his...past?" I'd been about to say family, but that might have left a bad taste between us.

She nodded. "Yeah. Because he couldn't protect them, this is his penance. Denying himself another family with me. Denying his own happiness because they couldn't live to have their own."

Rubbing my thumb over her wrist, I found her pulse racing. "It makes a certain sense I suppose. Especially if he's still having issues over it."

"He hates the thought of therapy and just thinks that he's going to get over stuff by force of will alone. But I brought it up after I told him we should separate. He asked me that if he agreed to see Carlisle if I would still make him leave. I told him no because he'd be doing something to help himself, and he'd need support like Seth with Shelby. Shelby helps my brother more than she thinks she does. I told Caden I'd listen to him talk about Alora until my ears fell off. And I'd go with him to see Carlisle, too. I mean, if we're going to be together for a while, then we need to know about each other, learn to talk to each other about things that make us uncomfortable. Please tell me I'm right about that? You and Jacob seem perfect."

I laughed softly. "Perfect? No. Definitely not. Jacob and I had a lot of issues at first, as you well know. I was seriously pissed off that nobody had told me about imprinting, especially him. He'd been my companion, my best friend, all my life, and he'd kept the biggest secret from me. I mean, I could understand if it was solely about him, but it wasn't. That secret was part of my life. So, after all the shi-stuff that we went through, I made him promise to never keep anything from me, no matter what. And in return, I promised the same thing. Sometimes it's hard to remember that because you want to keep that person safe. That's why we remind each other. I know that airing our thoughts out is helping because he's been talking more and more about his mom; I can see the pain easing a little. From what I've heard, he never used to talk about her even before I was born. But now, especially with the kids, he wants to talk about her, incorporate her in our lives somehow."

I rubbed my swollen belly. Jules was surprisingly calm. Maybe she was still napping.

"We even decided on our daughter's name. Julene Sarabella. Her middle name a combination of our mothers' names. And it means a lot to him."

"That's very pretty, Ness."

"Thank you. But I did have a point. Talking about it helps. And I'm not saying fighting about it. Ask him questions. Encourage him to open up about her. See, I think that he might think talking about her will be, in a way, betraying you. He's in a lot of pain, especially seeing all these kids and babies, and it's not something that you can comprehend even though you've known death in your family. You've never lost a mate or your children. Ask him about his son. At first, it might be like trying to pull teeth. Take it slow. That's how it was with Jacob."

Over in the playpen, Will had hoisted himself up and was talking to us, or trying to anyway. Leah smiled enthusiastically and waved at him.

"In a way, he did open up to me last night," she said, her eyes still on my son. "He told me that if he'd still been with her when he and I met, she wouldn't have held anything against him for leaving her. As long as he helped raise their kids, he said she would have let him go because she understood the concept of true mates."

I squeezed her hand. "That's good. That sounds like a really good start. Is he down with Carlisle right now?"

"Yeah." Her hand gripped mine tightly. "He wants a few sessions alone first, which I figured would happen."

"He's probably wanting to figure out if talking to you will help. That's a constant fear with couples, wondering if the other could really handle certain facts and fears you have."

"You have that fear with Jake?"

I shrugged. "Of course. But then again, we take our promises seriously. Otherwise what's the point in taking our relationship seriously?"

Across the room, Will threw his sippy cup and laughed, bouncing up and down on his legs.

I sighed. "Seriously? I swear, that boy...Anyway," I said, clapping my hands on my knees, "I was going to make a sandwich for lunch. Would you like anything? I have some left over spaghetti, too."

She looked surprised, as if she weren't used to people offering her food. "Oh, um, if you don't mind."

Dismissing that, I stood up and waddled to the fridge. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course I feed my wolves. If it's a normal session, they'll probably be another twenty minutes or so. Do you want spaghetti or a sandwich? Or something else?"

"Whatever you'll make for yourself will be fine."

"Well, I'm feeling spaghetti now. With this baby, I don't have an aversion to meat and I am soaking that up."

Taking out the Tupperware, I scooped out enough in two bowls and popped them in the microwave. Since Will had had some pumped milk already, I got a banana, his favorite, and made sure it wasn't too hard. He didn't like the mashed bananas in a jar, oh heaven forbid. But he did like some of the other fruits. And teething crackers. That's what his lunches usually consisted of, but I was slowly introducing other foods to him without throwing out his favorite and pissing him off. He got cranky with stuff like that just like Jacob. While our food heated up, I went to get him and put him in the high chair. As soon as I clicked the tabletop in place, the microwave beeped.

Before I could turn around, Leah was already out of her seat. She placed the hot bowls on the place mats and then turned for the fridge. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water's fine, thank you," I replied, snapping the bib on Will.

While we ate, we talked more about Caden and in what ways he might need support. Being around the kids more was a popular choice. He was around them so rarely and was always rigid, almost as if he were forcing himself to stay indifferent even though it was clear he was fond of them, especially Brayden, his nephew for all intents and purposes.

Leah helped me clean up by cleaning the bowls while I cleaned up my child. The one thing I learned about being a stay at home mom was that it was easier to clean things up the moment I noticed it. Otherwise, I'd have a crapload of cleaning to do all while chasing my kid.

There was another knock on the door as I cleaned his face with a wet cloth. Leah looked to me and I nodded for her to open it. Turned out it was Caden, somehow knowing she was up here.

We both froze as we got a good look at him. He looked ragged, as if he'd been dragged through an emotional hurricane, thrown here and there while he drowned at the same time. His eyes were red and puffy, face drawn in tightly. Though I expected him to look sad and upset, he just looked desperate and frantic instead. Roughly, he reached out to pull Leah against his body, burying his face in her neck and just holding onto her for all he was worth, arms fully encompassing her. She held him back, her hands twining through his hair, holding him against her hard.

She was whispering something and it took a moment for me to realize that she was telling him it was okay, that she was there for him no matter what.

And that was what told me that they'd work everything out. No matter a partner's past, if you loved them, you'd do whatever it took to try to understand and accept that a great bad thing had happened to them. Something that changed the fabric of what made them who they were to begin with. Jacob's had been his mother's death and then my mother's death after loving her for so long. Both events, losing the women he loved, had changed him. Nothing so huge that he went off the deep end, but just a tiny piece of his heart was darker than the other parts because of the losses. The same could be said for Caden. The day his family was found torn apart was the day he no doubt went crazy. Leah had told me that Caden had said the wolf had surged up that day and ripped him away from the ruins of his home. The wolf had done what it could to protect its human host from a broken heart and a shattered soul.

Now, it was Leah's turn to heal the human part of him.

This was a good start.

**LeahPOV**

After Caden and I had hugged it out on Nessie's porch, I took him home. He wasn't fit for public consumption. On the way down, I'd seen him wipe at his eyes angrily, like he was mad at himself. In the afternoon sunlight, his sandy blond hair was brighter than it normally was in the cloud-filtered light. Bright gold highlights shined through the darker blonds creating a soft halo around his head. His permanently golden skin seemed paler in the bright light.

I didn't say anything, knowing that if he wanted to talk, he'd talk. He was that kind of man and one of the things I loved about him. I wasn't a Chatty Cathy, preferring to talk when I had something of importance to talk about. Silence didn't bother me.

When we got to the house, I unlocked the door with the key under the mat. I'd barely made it through the door before he shut it behind him, gripped my arm, and spun me around. His lips were hard on mine before I even got my gasp of surprise out of my throat. But I melted against him, unable to fight his desperation. That body of his was rock hard, muscles tense and rigid as he turned me around bodily and pushed me against the wall. Gripping his wrists from where his hands framed my face, I let him invade my mouth, teeth nipping at my lips, tongue seeking entrance. I gave him what he needed.

Even though I wasn't a therapist, I knew that he was looking for control of something. Letting out whatever he had to Carlisle probably made him feel lost like he didn't have a firm grasp of anything. Now he needed something he was sure of, something that could catch him, hold him up, and let him take control.

With his hips pressed to mine, holding me where he wanted me, his hands moved down over my neck, smoothed my shoulders before coasting over my breasts and stomach. Long fingers dug into the waist of my low rise jeans and gripped hard. Bracing myself, I expected him to rip them open, but he didn't. Instead, he loosened his hold and pressed his forehead to mine.

Chest heaving, I felt his breath warm on my wet, swollen lips. "I'm sorry. I just...I needed..."

I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, playing my fingers through his hair. "It's okay. Sometimes...sometimes that's how we feel we need to express ourselves, especially when you love someone and need them. You needed to anchor yourself. It's okay. I'm here. Always."

"I'd be so lost without you. I love you."

"And I love you." I moved away from him and the wall, toward our bedroom, taking his hand as I went. "Come on. Let's lay down. You look exhausted."

He let me lead him back to the bedroom. Almost as if he were in shock, he let me strip him down. Before I'd gone to Nessie's house, I'd stopped to drop Brayden off with Shelby, so we didn't have to worry about little eyes. Once I was done with Caden's clothes, I pulled mine off and led him to bed.

On his side, he faced me. "Today was horrible,-"

"Caden, you don't have to-"

"But it was also amazing," he continued.

I stared at him. "What?"

"Talking about it. I've been telling myself for months that the bastard that did it is dead, but...I'd never said it out loud before. I killed him. I avenged my family, and all families he harmed. And Nessie...she went and gained protection for all of us."

Reaching for me, he wrapped his arm around my waist and brought my front against his. I wasn't offended at the lack of his body's reaction because of all he must have gone through emotionally. Right now, he just wanted comfort, touch.

"Everything I remember from that day is from the wolf's eyes. Carlisle did this exercise where I closed my eyes and walked back through the events of that day. I had never realized that I'd blocked out my human memories, and that all of the emotion was repressed. That's why I had problems sleeping for the last few years."

"What do you mean?" I asked softly. His skin was warm where I stroked his chest, heart thudding heavily under my palm.

He swallowed hard. "The wolf's emotions are somewhat separated. He felt sorrow and loss, sure. But animals are creatures of logic and habit, not emotions. They don't understand emotions. Being connected to me, my emotions were too much for him, so he took over that day. Over the past few years, my human memories have been presented as nightmares, keeping me up, haunting me." Those amber eyes became distant, and I knew he was about to dive into what he'd probably told Carlisle. I wanted to tell him to stop, that he didn't have to, but he was talking to me willingly. I'd keep my promise and listen. "I was coming home from a day of training a cub. That's what we called newly infected wolves. Just as an actual cub has to be trained to control itself, so do new lycanthropes. Anyway, I was running on all fours, enjoying the Spring sunshine washing through the trees. I knew that...Alora...had gone to the doctor that day for a checkup."

His voice had cracked on her name. He'd always said it without emotion before, forced nonchalance. But today must have dug up a lot of the pain he'd buried instead of dealt with at the time.

He frowned. "I could have sworn it was going to be a boy, but...that was the day she was supposed to find out. How could I have known? I guess I just _thought_ it was going to be a boy. Maybe a girl. Maybe I was going to have a daughter. Anyway, as soon as I hit the edge of our property, I knew something was wrong. The air smelled metallic, tangy, coppery like blood. A lot of it. Even in wolf form, I can have control over his presence in my head, so I stayed in wolf form in case I needed to fight. But once I saw my...what had happened, I was useless. Alora had tried to protect...Damien. I knew because his tiny body was...he was..."

And he started crying. It was the first time I'd ever seen him cry. But of course he did. He was talking about his son, his own flesh and blood. How had I felt at seeing Seth dead on that table? Dad dead in the ambulance? But Nessie was right. I didn't know the loss of a child, of a life I had created. And nothing as brutal as what Caden was seeing behind his eyes.

Lifting my hands to his face, I stroked his cheeks with my thumbs, more tears replacing the ones I took away. "Shhh, you don't have to finish. You've already told me a lot. It's okay."

"No," he said roughly, shaking his head. "I need to tell you. It's important that you know."

"O-okay."

Before he started talking again, he took some deep breaths, calming his emotions enough to get through what he felt he needed to tell me.

"Though he was only two, very young, he'd already started shifting. I'd never seen anything like it. He'd died after Alora. She'd shoved him into a corner, trying to protect him, no doubt bargaining for him. But her throat had been ripped out. There was so much blood that I didn't give thought to the child inside her. I heard no heartbeats in the house. They were dead. Damien...was in pieces. They hadn't taken his blood. They'd ripped him apart for what he was, because of the blood that ran through his veins. He'd shifted, probably out of fear. And when he died, the pieces didn't go back to human. At first, my mind wouldn't accept what I was seeing. The walls painted in blood and my son's organs. Alora's wide, terrified eyes. The only part of Damien that was intact was his right hand, or paw, I should say. Out of everything in that house, that was the one thing that brought the world rushing back around me. Pain flooded my body. Scents bombarded my nose. And my eyes saw the room as a candy-coated apple."

Which explained why he wouldn't eat any apple except a yellow apple.

"That was when the wolf took over, sensing my panic and hyperventilation. The thought came that if we passed out here, we could die, too, by whatever hand had dealt these deaths. Though I was already suppressed, I can remember thinking that that's what I wanted. I wanted to die. But the wolf said 'not yet'. It wasn't our time. And he wanted revenge; he wanted blood. So, not even taking time to bury my own family, he took us out of the house.

"At the edge of the trees, movement made us slow. Blond hair. Blood red eyes. The bastard grinned at me, blood covering his face and hands. And I remember what he said to me. 'She screamed for you the entire time before I drank her dry. And your son for his daddy before I ripped him apart for the monster he was. Ta.' And then he was gone. I tried to go after him, but he was fast. And somehow, he'd masked his scent. A year and half later, I ran into Tristan. I'm sure you can guess the rest."

Trying desperately to be strong for him by holding back my own tears, I swallowed hard and said, "You came here with him."

"Yes. He promised me that if I helped him, he'd have his vampire partner track down the one that killed my family. That was how he got me to join his crusade. And I don't regret it even though his partner was working for the thing that killed my family. Joining them brought me to you. And brought me the death I'd always wanted for the bastard."

"But..."

"What?"

"If you were still in so much pain when you joined him and came here, why not push me away? Why not fight it like Walker fought Christa?"

He didn't answer for a long moment, his hands stroking up my waist. "You won't like my answer."

"Tell me," I whispered.

"A distraction. You see," he went on quickly, "at first, I didn't realize I was feeling the pull of the true mate. My body and heart were numb. Had been that way since the first moment I shifted back after that day. The wolf kept those memories of pain from me, had locked them away inside my head. Without those feelings of pain, anger, and loss, I was chillingly numb. I just thought I was feeling the pull of a beautiful woman, my body not having had release since just after Alora had gotten pregnant. You were the first woman I ever reacted to after her. It wasn't until I realized that you'd imprinted and that I knew what that meant that I realized it was more. I was doing my own version of imprinting. By then, it was too late to pull away from you. I'd already had a taste of you. My feelings for you had filled that hollow where Alora had been. After I started feeling again, the nightmares got worse, more vivid, like she was trying to come back and blame me for moving on when I couldn't protect her or our son." He took a deep breath, amber eyes gleaming in the late afternoon light streaming through the window even though his back was to the window. His body was cast in a shadowy silhouette except for those eyes. "And so, here we are."

"Here we are," I whispered.

"Please don't be angry." His voice was soft, eyes not meeting mine.

Startled, I just stared at him. "Angry? About what? You just told me the story of what changed your life and you're asking me not be angry? What could I possibly be angry about?"

"Calling you a distraction."

Heart melting, I reached up to stroke his hair out of his eyes. "Caden, things were different a year or so ago. You don't think that way about me now, do you?"

A look of horror crossed his face. "Absolutely not! I couldn't. I mean, I-I..."

Sensing his panic and surprised by it, I pressed my body to his. "Sh, sh, sh. Easy. Caden, baby, calm down. Please. I know you don't see me that way. I don't care how many times I have to tell you that it's okay. After all you told me, that's not even on my list of things to think about."

His body sagged against the mattress with relief. Exhaustion thinned out his face, making his eyelids heavy. "Thank God. I thought maybe-"

"I'd kick you out after all? No. I told you. You help yourself by going to Carlisle, and I'm going to be here to support you. If, after every session, we have to come here, talk, then sleep, then we will. Or just go straight to sleep. Whatever you need. You're my imprint. At that time, you needed a distraction, so that's what I was. I will always be what you need me to be, when you need me to be it. Okay?"

Letting out a rattling breath, he nodded. "I'm so tired. I feel...empty."

I smiled. "Because you're not holding it all in anymore. You still have some healing to do, but maybe telling the story is your starting line. All that matters is that you've taken that step. Now you can finally begin the healing process."

He smiled a little. "You sound like Carlisle."

"And I will take that as a compliment." I kissed his forehead. "Now go to sleep."

"Stay with me?"

"Of course, my love. Of course."

**JPOV**

The bell over the door jingled when I walked into the flower shop. Morgan was behind the counter with her imprint's dad learning how to make arrangements. They both looked up when I came in.

Morgan grinned. "Hey, Jake. What's up? Everything okay?"

Every time she saw me, she asked me that. And every time, she knew the answer. She just liked hearing that nothing was wrong because it was like music to her ears.

"Everything's fine, Morgan. If not, you would have gotten a text from me if it was about the pack, or Seth if I was busy with the baby."

Excitement shined from her eyes and she clapped. "Another girl for the pack! I'm so excited. And the alpha's daughter. Talk about a woman in power."

Lucas's father shook his head and rolled his eyes with a small smile for his daughter-in-law. They hadn't married yet, but they were one of those couples that was okay with that. They wanted to start a family, too. All the pack wanted to now that the danger was over and there wasn't a high risk of leaving their families due to battles and wars.

From the door behind the counter, Lucas popped up, wiping his hands on a towel. He grinned at me and held out his hand. "Hey, man. What brings you out this way? The mechanic shop is closer to your house than we are."

I shrugged. "Might be having a spat when I get home. I told Nessie I'd be gone for two hours." Checking my watch, I cringed. "Four hours now."

He hissed. "Ouch, man. So you need something to ease the blow, huh?"

"Something like that. You have any tiger lilies? Orange or red?"

"You're in luck, Mr. Black," his father said. "A fresh order of them just came in."

"I'll go pick them out," Morgan said, going for the door her mate was standing in. "I am a woman, after all."

My eyebrows met my hairline questioningly when I looked as Lucas as she walked away.

He shrugged. "She's starting to get in touch with her femininity. Ever since she helped Christa plan her wedding, she's been...softer."

"I heard that!" she shouted from the back.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm only being honest!"

It was strange but comforting to see Lucas in the shop. He was huge. Not quite as tall as me, but bulkier. He'd been hitting the gym with Derek and Xavier. His t-shirt hugged his body tightly, slightly straining at the seams. But it was comforting because he belonged here. It was like going to your favorite store for years and seeing your favorite display. If they took it down, you would miss it, and your favorite place wouldn't be as special because that display had made it more for you.

Morgan came back in holding a bright display of red and orange lilies. "What do you think?"

I nodded. "They're perfect." I went for my wallet. "How much?"

Lucas's dad shook his head adamantly.

Before he could say anything, Morgan piped up, knowing how much I hated things being handed to me. "Forty for a dozen. Fifty if you want a vase with it."

"Morgan," the owner admonished.

She shrugged. "He wants to be a good citizen like everyone else. I say let him. Besides, it's not like he's in here all the time. He can afford to drop some money on his woman."

"Exactly," I agreed sliding the bills across the counter. "Fifty but no vase. Keep the change." I gave Lucas's dad a hard look until he closed his mouth. "Consider it tip. My wife has enough vases at home."

Morgan wrapped up the flowers in that clear plastic stuff and handed them to me. "See ya later, baby daddy."

I gave her a look. "Really?"

She just grinned.

I shook Lucas's hand once more, said bye to his dad, and left. I doubted Nessie would be pissed but she might be irritated. I'd promised her only a couple hours at the shop, and I didn't like breaking promises. Today was unusually sunny for April, so I rolled down the window in the truck, enjoying the crisp, fresh air. When I got home, the windows were thrown open, the scent of the lake permeating the air mixed with the scents of Nessie's vanilla and cinnamon candles that she loved so much. Not exactly Spring scents, but I knew she had some lemon-scented candles in there as well as apple and citrus. Through the window I could hear Will laughing and banging on something that sounded like a cooking pan. Ness liked to let him in the cabinets when she was cleaning in the kitchen. He was distracted enough not to take off where she couldn't catch him.

Walking through the door, I was surprised to see the house pretty much sparkling. She'd been busy today. Something was cooking, and it smelled like it had been cooking all afternoon. Mmm, beef stew. Hadn't had that in a while. The kitchen floor was strewn with pots, pans, and Tupperware. Will was sitting in ground zero holding a wooden spoon. He looked over and grinned at me through his pacifier as I closed the door.

Nessie's head poked around the wall that separated the kitchen from the hallway. She grinned. "Hey, you! I hope you're hungry."

"Starving."

Her eyes narrowed. "Flowers. Hmmm, what did you do wrong?"

"I was late. I told you two hours. It's now four hours since I left."

Giving me a look, she bent to pick Will up and came to me. "Baby, stuff happens. I know that. Of course I'm not mad. But they are pretty." She held my son out to me. "Here, you take this." I reached out to take him with one arm while she went for the flowers in my other. "And I will take these."

With my arm around his tummy, he just hung there against my chest. I kissed his temple. "Dude, she just called you 'this'." He gurgled at me and hit my cheek.

Over her shoulder, Nessie grinned. "He loves me anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, 'cause he's a momma's boy."

She rubbed her belly. "Hey, she's going to be a daddy's girl so don't even go there."

The vase she was trying to reach was up too high. I came up behind her before she could go for a chair. Didn't want her climbing. Will dug his fingers into her hair, one of his favorite things to do. "Which one?"

"The dark yellow one. It'll match."

Easily, I reached it and put it down on the counter for her.

She grinned up at me. "Thank you, baby. I've always loved you for your body."

"Don't I know it. I've given you two kids. I'm a beast."

"Pfft, one and a half." She framed her belly with her hands. "This one's still cooking. You can say two when she's here safe and sound."

In my arms, my son started smacking his small hands against my arm. Nessie washed off a pacifier and put it in his mouth.

"So what all did you do today?" I asked, swinging Will up so he was sitting on my arm. Immediately, his hand went to the collar of my shirt, gripping it tightly.

"Cleaning mostly. Will is already getting his molars in. I did my research. He's not really supposed to get them until closer to a year. I guess he's developing faster now."

"Maybe it's a baby thing, you know, with our kids. Jules is developing fast inside the womb so Will is trying to develop faster to keep up? Maybe there's something in their genes making them grow faster."

She shrugged while she cut about an inch off the stems, filled the vase with water, and set them on the table. "I don't know. But she is getting bigger. She can kick my lungs now."

"Really?"

Nodding, she went to stir the stew. "It's done. Do you want it like this or do you want me to thicken it?"

"Like that's fine. You've done enough," I said, putting Will in his high chair. When I saw her go for bowls and silverware, I went to her and turned her around, pulling her against my body as much as I was able with her baby bump. "You, my dear wife, are going to sit down and let me serve you. You've. Done. Enough."

Letting out a sharp breath, she put her hands on my chest. "You're so good to me." Going up on her toes, she brushed her lips against mine. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too." And I deepened the kiss. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her today. She tasted good, like home and cinnamon. The moment I tasted her, my body relaxed even though I'd had no idea I was tense in the first place.

Her tongue explored my mouth and I instantly responded. This pregnancy wasn't like the last where sex was concerned. Granted it wasn't always full-blown intercourse. Sometimes, she was just in a dominant mood and wanted to pleasure me, in which she would for hours, torturing me. And some nights, I would do the same to her. It did seem strange to me that the two of us didn't mind doing those things with our son just next door in the nursery, but that would probably change when he started walking the way Shelby and Seth were with Brayden. Even though he couldn't open the door, it was still disconcerting. How Walker and Christa did it was beyond me, as well as Emily and Sam. Leila was almost two years old and was just tall enough to open doors.

Behind us, Will's pacifier fell to the tray of the high chair and he got fussy.

"Hungry," Nessie said breathlessly when she pulled back.

"How do you know that?"

She smiled. "I'm starting to hear the differences in his cries. This one means hungry and attention. I pureed some chicken for him, and there's still half a banana from earlier. I also managed to pump some milk. An advantage of getting pregnant again so soon."

"Still avoiding formula?"

She shrugged. "Hey, my body's producing it, and I'm using it. I know that some women have issues with this kind of stuff, but I don't think I'm one of them. I haven't had a problem yet. It's probably because neither I nor the kids are human, not fully anyway. Animals tend to have what their young need I guess."

While she talked, I got out his food, tossing the meat into the microwave for a few seconds just to warm it up. He was picky about his meats, especially the chicken. Once I was done with his food, I put ours together and sat down, pulling his high chair toward me. Pointing at her with my fork, I said, "You eat. I'll feed him."

Sighing and rolling her eyes, she dug in. "I do need to talk to Carlisle though."

The tone in her voice had me worried. "What? Why?" I asked, scooping up some chicken on the spoon and holding it up to Will. He took and chewed. We'd started watching how much he tried to push his food out with his tongue. He was close to stopping altogether.

Nessie frowned, chewing on her lip. "He wanted blood today."

"What?"

"Will. I was drinking some blood, and he wanted some, like he knew what it was. When I didn't let him have any at first, he got mad. Like, really mad. And then I let him have a little, just dipped my finger in it, and he calmed down. Didn't cry for anymore but he seemed content with that little bit. Should I start feeding him blood? A little? I mean, our kids aren't human. He's, what, a quarter vampire? And let's face it, I drank a lot of blood when I was pregnant with him."

Reaching over to her, I gripped her fingers. "It's okay. We'll go talk to Carlisle tomorrow. You're right. He's part vampire. Maybe he does need a little blood. Not as much as you need because you're half vampire, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Hell, he may not even know. I don't think our kind of relationship has ever happened, plus the kids. It's kind of a new species. Half-vampire and genetic werewolf. Our parenting is going to be different than the books, Ness. We can do all the reading and internet surfing we want, but there's not going to be anything on the types of kids we're going to have. It's going to be one of those things where we just go with the flow and try different things." I shrugged. "Our son likes blood. That's doesn't surprise me since his mother is half vampire. All Carlisle is probably going to be able to do is tell us how much we should give him and if it actually helps him. Maybe he just likes the taste."

"I'd feel better talking to him."

"And we will." Peeling open the rest of the banana, I picked a piece off and put it to his lips. He loved his bananas. "Do we have any pears? He likes those for dessert. They're sweet enough."

"Yeah, there are a couple in the fridge. You'll have to mash them up though. I didn't get a chance to do that." She looked at my bowl. "You still need to eat."

"I will once he's fed. Mine can be re-heated but you know he gets grumpy." I went to the fridge and grabbed a pear.

While I was mashing it up a little, she asked, "Jake? Do you think she'll grow that fast once she's born?"

My shoulders tensed. I couldn't help it. Now I knew how Edward had felt when Bella had been pregnant. But of course, I loved my child. He hadn't until he'd heard Nessie's thoughts for the first time.

"Jake?"

Clearing my throat, I turned and went for the table. "I honestly don't know. I mean, on one hand, I hope she grows a little fast because newborns scare me with how fragile they are. I was happy when Will was able to hold his head up on his own. One less thing I had to worry about. But on the other hand, I know what you're scared of. The same thing we all were with you. You grew so fast we all thought we wouldn't have that much time with you. Honestly, though, she's only a fourth vampire, just like Will. Maybe she's growing this fast because you got pregnant with her not long after you had Will. He was only- what? Four months old? Maybe you still had the hormones running through you and that added to the new pregnancy hormones? I'm not a doctor but it makes sense to me."

She chewed on her lip. Will hit me on the arm right before digging his little talons into my skin. Frowning at him, I said, "No, Will. Don't scratch. We are so clipping your nails tonight when you're asleep." Moving his hand, I saw little bloody half moons in my skin.

Nessie snorted. "Good luck with that. I tried that this afternoon when he was napping. That so didn't happen."

I frowned. "What are you talking about? I've never had problems."

"Really?"

Shaking my head, I put a spoonful of pear to his lips. After a moment, he took it. "Nope. A couple weeks ago, I just went in there and clipped them. He woke up a little, but he didn't give me any fuss."

"Huh," she huffed. "Looks like he's not such a momma's boy after all."

"No, it's because I'm a man. I share the masculine horror at having to clip your nails. It's such a woman thing, and having a woman do it is so...emasculating."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. He doesn't even know that he's a guy, let alone the difference."

"I beg to differ. Has he ever tried to nurse on a guy when one of the pack is holding him? No. But every woman who holds him, he tries. He's a guy and my son. He knows."

"I suppose," she said grudgingly.

"I'm tellin' ya, Ness. Babies know things. They're smarter than you think. And it's because they watch everything."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just finish feeding him. You're making me feel guilty that you haven't eaten yet and I'm already on my ice cream."

Indeed, she'd gotten the tub of chocolate-almond ice cream from the freezer and was eating straight out of it like she always did.

"Well, you go on and enjoy that ice cream. We're still eating our pears, so hush."

She rolled her eyes again. "Whatever."

Eventually, I did eat and after we'd cleaned up the kitchen of all the dishes, including the ones Will had been using to instruments earlier, we ended up on the couch, catching up on our shows. Will was sprawled over Nessie's chest, going to work on his pacifier, eye lids getting heavy from where his ear was pressed over Nessie's heart. His legs were spread out around her belly. Where her feet rested on my lap, I rubbed them. Her ankles were swollen a little, and she let out little moans if I hit a spot just right.

Instead of watching the tv, I couldn't help but watch the two-three-of them. Nessie was laying back, her head on the arm rest of the couch, Will spread out on top of her. Her hand was rubbing circles on his back absently while her other hand rubbed her belly in the same slow circles. Those brown eyes reflected the images from the tv, making them bright and alive.

This was my family. Not yet full with all the kids we wanted, but well on our way. And so far, the three of them were still healthy. I almost still couldn't believe that this was happening. That I was a married man with an infant son and a daughter on the way. Take away the supernatural aspects and it was everything I'd ever wanted in my life. A good job at the shop and healthy family. At sixteen and freshly-phased, I'd never thought I'd get this. But here it was.

And I felt like the luckiest man on the planet because of it.

**The next morning...**

**RPOV**

"He's a perfectly healthy eight month old baby, Ness. I swear it," Carlisle promised as he examined Will. "Granted, he's developing faster than usual, but you know that. As for the blood, I think Jacob may be right. He's a fourth vampire. Maybe he grew accustomed to the taste in the womb. It happens. I won't know if it's had any affect on him until I get some of his blood and can compare it to an earlier test tube."

Standing beside the bed, I stroked my son's cheek. "You really think that small amount could have had an affect?"

He shrugged in a noncommittal way. "Babies don't require large amounts of things to affect them, like medicine. Or food. Think of how little solid food you feed him compared to what you eat in a day. It's comparably a crumb. And speaking of babies, Julene is still healthy, granted she has grown a little more according to the ultrasound. She's started growing faster than expected, so maybe I should just stick with June as a due date. I think Jacob is right again. Perhaps the accelerated growth is from an abnormal amount of hormones. With anything more than human, anything is possible. I know you don't want to hear this, but we're all learning here."

Jacob spoke up from where he was leaning on the counter. "So, the bottom line is that all three of them are healthy?"

Carlisle smiled at him. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. Now, let me get some blood from this little guy and I can get started on the comparisons."

"Ness is the shot queen," Jacob said, grinning at me. He knew Will would be mad at me for the needle, but I supposed he was right.

Rolling up his sleeve, I held his arm while Carlisle took what he needed. Sure enough, Will started crying and screaming when the needle pierced his skin. My heart hurt for him and I almost started crying with him even though I could swear he looked at me with accusation in his eyes through his tears. And then it was over. Carlisle put some gauze and some of that stretchy stuff around his arm before rolling down the sleeve. Immediately, Will shied away from me, which was expected. Still, a pang of hurt hit me.

Jacob was there picking him up, swinging him up into his arms. "I know, buddy," he said, bouncing him and rubbing his back. "Needles hurt, don't they? It's okay. It'll stop hurting soon."

Carlisle pulled off his gloves. "It'll take some time for me to study the blood. But other than that, I think we're done. He did well as did mother and little sister. I'll call you as soon as I know anything about the blood, okay? But if he wants more when he sees you drinking it, I'd say give him some. And don't change what you put it in. Let him see it. We need to know how he reacts to it. All of your children could be the same when it comes to blood; or given their mix up of genes, they could all be totally different. Only time will tell." He held up the tube. "I'm just going to put this in my office refrigerator. Excuse me." And then he left.

After about five minutes of Jacob walking around the room talking to him, Will calmed down enough that he'd take his pacifier. Amazingly, he took it from me, and then he let me wash off his face from all the tears. He was pouty and clung to his daddy's shirt, though, letting me know that right now he wanted daddy. But that was okay. It was cute when he "ran to daddy" after I had to bring him to Carlisle for shots or taking blood. My grandfather liked to take blood on every visit just to see if any changes had happened with my son's growth.

Leaning over, Jacob kissed my forehead. "It's okay. He gets over it faster and faster each time."

"I know. But it's okay. You two need some cuddle time anyway. It is lunch time. You should go feed him. I brought his food just in case we were here."

He gave me a look. "You okay?"

Seeing Carlisle had made me think about Caden which in turn brought Leah to mind and my talk with her about Seth. I needed to talk to Cricket, Aunt Alice's niece from her human family.

I smiled at him. "Yes, Jacob. I'm fine." Heading for the door, I went across the hall to the bathroom. "I was trying to get you out of here nicely so I wouldn't have to tell you that I gotta pee again."

I caught his eye roll before closing the door. It was kind of sad that I had to text her in hiding, but if he saw me, he'd ask. And I promised Leah to keep our conversation confidential. To me, that meant every part of it. Quickly, I sent out my text and told her when she could either call me or come to the house on days Jacob wasn't there. If there was anything solid to my idea, I'd tell him after I told Leah.

But I really did have to use the bathroom so the flush wasn't fake and neither was washing my hands.

My phone chimed. Cricket said she'd call me tomorrow and was clearly surprised at my question.

Poking my nose in other people's business wasn't really my thing, but no matter how much Seth saw Carlisle, he wasn't getting better in the ways that counted. Sure he was calming his aggression, but that was just covering up the problem. We lived in a world of the supernatural. His resurrection had had the explanation of Shelby's blood, but how could there be an explanation for the side-effects of coming back from the dead? Psychics existed. Why not others? Seth needed help and I was the alpha female. It was my job to take care of everybody while Jacob worked all the diplomacy.

As I went downstairs to mingle with family, I really hoped something good would come through.

**JPOV**

Nessie came down a few minutes later to join us for lunch. Though Carlisle had said that Jules had grown a little more, it wasn't enough to affect Nessie on the outside. But that didn't really mean anything. When Shelby had been pregnant with Brayden, she'd gone from a three month baby bump to a seven month bump practically overnight. Jules had grown enough for Carlisle to shave a whole month off the due date, putting us at closer to seven months pregnant than six. In less than two months, I could be holding my daughter after it felt like we just learned we were pregnant with her.

Bella was feeding her grandson where he sat in her lap, Edward beside her. Will had gotten over the needle fiasco. I knew that because when Nessie walked in, he grinned at his mother like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Well, he wasn't wrong. Through the anxiousness of the rapidly developing pregnancy, she was glowing. She smiled at him as she sat down next to me.

Leaning over, I kissed her temple. "Feel better?"

"Much."

Esme came in a moment later holding two plates.

Nessie's eyes widened as her plate was set in front of her. "Steak?"

"Absolutely. I thought you might be getting tired of chicken all the time. And I made it medium rare to keep some pink in there."

"Thank you, grandma. It looks delicious."

Esme's face melted. Nessie rarely used familial names for her grandparents and they loved it when she did. "You're welcome, sweetheart. What would you like to drink?"

"I'll take some water," I said.

Nessie bit her lip and looked at Will. "Do you have any blood?"

"Of course. Heated up a little?"

"Yes, please."

In just a couple minutes, she was back with a glass of warmed-up blood. I watched Will. Just as Nessie had said, all his attention went to the glass in her hand. Bella had to pause the spoon halfway to his mouth. She and I shared a look. Since I was closer to him, Nessie handed me the glass. It was still too warm for him to drink from the glass, so I dipped my finger into it, coating the tip with the warm liquid. Will watched my finger as I moved it toward him. He opened his mouth and sucked on my finger, tongue licking it clean. When I took my hand back, he smacked his lips and then held his mouth open for another spoon full of chicken. It was like the blood had hypnotized him. Only after he'd gotten a taste was the spell broken. I could see Carlisle watching from the kitchen doorway, face carefully blank. He wrote something down in a notebook that had magically appeared in his hand before leaving the kitchen, probably going to examine the blood.

Nessie took the glass from me and drank deeply, almost as if it were a shot of something strong. Reaching over, I rubbed her shoulders. "It's okay, baby. There's nothing wrong with that."

For the rest of lunch, Will didn't pay any more attention to that glass. Just one taste was all he wanted. After seeing it, I wasn't too worried. What would have concerned me was if he'd wanted to drain the whole glass. Granted, I didn't like how fixed he'd seemed to be by it, but it also reminded me of a thirsty vampire on the hunt. They concentrated on their food, lusting after the blood they needed to survive.

Nessie had visibly relaxed the moment she finished the blood and put the empty glass in the kitchen. I wondered why his wanting blood bothered her so much. She was half vampire, and she wanted blood. What was so wrong with her child wanting it? I'd have to ask her later.

We spent the day down at the Cullen house.

It was kind of amusing because Edward sat with Will on his lap and the two just stared at each other. Edward was clearly trying to read Will's thoughts because a slight frown pulled his eyebrows down.

"What's he thinkin' about, grandpa?" I asked with a smirk from my spot on the loveseat. Ness was beside me, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her head rested on my shoulder, hand rubbing circles on her belly.

She laughed into my shoulder as Edward frowned at me.

"I was seeing if he was anything like his mother when she was born. Nessie had coherent thoughts, but he sounds just like Brayden. Just jumbled images. The pacifier is a popular one right now."

"Oh, I can take care of that," Nessie said leaning forward for the diaper bag. She tossed one over to him and he chuckled when he got a good look at it.

After Will took it, he turned to look over at us. I rolled my eyes while the room burst into laughter. It was vampire fang one. Beside me, Nessie giggled into her hand. He grinned around it at her. While Edward watched his grandson, I watched him. Since Will had been born, he'd seemed distant to the fact that he had a grandson. Come to think of it, he'd seemed distant to the fact that he had a daughter, too. But I knew he loved both of them. They were his family. And that was why he was distant. He never thought he'd be able to have a family. Now, he had all of that. A wife, daughter, and grandson. Two more generations added to his name. After a hundred years of knowing you'd never have that must have been hard to shake, even with the proof in your arms.

His dark topaz eyes met mine, and he nodded. An affirmation that what I'd been thinking was how he was feeling.

_Well, get used to it_, I thought at him. _You have a granddaughter on the way. And any more we may have, which is a total possibility._

He grinned at me, no longer growling at the thought of me and his daughter getting it on like he used to at first.

The laughter died and he glared at me.

I just smiled, tempted to give him mental images but decided I didn't want him to see those personal moments.

An expression that I took as thanks crossed his face.

Will turned around again to face us. He grinned at me and held out his arms.

"Dad," Nessie said, "put him on the floor. See if he'll crawl over here. We're trying to get him used to moving himself where he wants to go."

Edward put him on the floor. At first, it looked like he was going to get fussy, so I waved at him, leaning forward, urging him to come to me. Smiling, he moved into prime crawling position and for me, fast and furious across the carpet. They all laughed as he got to me, using my boots and jeans to pull himself up. My son grinned up at me as I praised him, his hands gripping my knees.

I picked him up and sat him on my lap. He spit out his pacifier, making a face, the happiness suddenly turning to something else. Nessie reached down to get his sippy cup. The smile returned as he took it.

At that moment, Carlisle appeared in the living room. Just...poof. And he was standing in front of us.

Nessie sat up. "Grandpa? What is it? Did you find anything?"

He nodded. "I did. The blood samples I had before Will first drank the blood were just normal cells. It seems as though the intake of blood triggers his vampire side."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me put it like this. Without drinking blood, he'll more than likely grow up the way Jacob did. Human with no supernatural abilities until after he first phases. With the drinking of blood, he'll probably be like you, Nessie. Stronger than a normal child. It may even progress his early development. In the blood sample, his cells had taken on the same characteristics of yours."

"Is it permanent?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I believe that the effects would fade if you stopped feeding him blood. However, watching you today at lunch...I don't think he'd let that happen. His genes are telling him to drink the blood. It's a natural part of who he is. If you deny him, he may just stay permanently agitated. The choice of whether to feed him blood is, of course, up to the two of you. I don't foresee either option hurting him physically. The craving blood may eventually go away, the vampire gene going into a recession of sorts."

Nessie had shrunk back against me, her teeth worrying her lip. That was when I decided it was time to go home. She looked exhausted and worried. Being around the family right now would only stress her out more. So I hauled us off the couch. Edward nodded at me, understanding.

_Is she blocking you?_

He nodded infinitesimally.

Awesome.

She took Will while I gathered our stuff and said our goodbyes. We were halfway home before I stopped in the middle of the drive, dropping the bags. Nessie turned to face me, her lips still between her teeth.

"What?"

"I saw you today at lunch. You were worried. Before we talk about whether or not to keep feeding him blood, I want to know why you think there's something wrong with it. And don't lie to me. This is our son we're talking about. I need to know what you're thinking." For some reason, I was more stern with her than I'd planned. Probably because I couldn't figure out why she thought it was so bad when it was her nature to drink blood, too.

She sighed, hoisting him higher up on her hip. "Okay, fine. I want him more like you. I don't want him to be like me, not like that."

"Why not? You're his mother. Of course he's going to have vampire in him."

"Yes," she said clearly, "and I want it to recede. I want him mostly human until he phases."

All I could do was stare at her.

"You don't want him to have anymore blood."

"No, I don't."

"Why?"

"I told you."

"No, you didn't. Why don't you want us to nurture that side of him?"

Now her eyes turned sad, tears pooling. "Because I'm only half-vampire and all it's done is cause us trouble. People we love have died just because of what I am, of what my side is. I don't want my kids to take after that."

Angry, I picked up the bags once more and stomped past her toward the house. "Well, you should have thought of that before having kids with me. I, for one, am not going to try to rip a part of them away. They're part of you, and that means vampire, Nessie. It's their nature; I won't take that from them. The danger is over. The Volturi is not going to come for them. And I'd rip Aro's face off before letting him even look at my son."

"Jacob-," she started, trying to keep up with me. I slowed so she could.

"I don't understand, Ness. They're your children. Why don't you want yourself in them? I actually think this is a good thing."

"How is this good?"

Setting the diaper bag and food bag on the porch, I turned to her, motioning to Will. "He is the future of the pack, the future alpha. And he's part vampire. A living, breathing reminder that the two species can live together in peace. I want him to grow up to be everything he can be, as strong as he's capable of being. Even if that means that he hunts with us when he's older. Or hell, all of our kids. They are the future leaders. We have to make sure they're strong. Our world is changing. Now the other werewolves are involved with their own sets of rules and ways of life. Think about it. This isn't purely black and white anymore. Brayden is a hybrid of wolf as will be any children that Walker and Christa or Lean and Caden have. Maybe there are more kids out there that are like ours. Vampires and werewolves mating in secret, hiding their relationship. If we can raise our kids to be strong, to offer peace not just around here, but around the world, maybe those other children will know that they have nothing to be ashamed of, that it's okay to be what you are and to defend it. _That's _what I see for their future."

The tears had started in earnest. Will was buried in her hair, fast approaching nap mode.

Going to her, I cupped her face, wiping her tears with my thumbs. "Nessie, there is nothing wrong with him being part vampire. Nobody has ever blamed you for what was happening. Never. And I would never dream of it. It wasn't your fault. People assumed things, and then it just snowballed from there. There was nothing any of us could do about it. Our children are safe. They have us, the pack. Just like you did. We got through it then, and we will get through anything else that comes our way. But we cannot hide our children from what they are. That's not fair to them, and I won't support that."

She cried harder, hugging Will to her chest. Burying her face in his shoulder, she nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay, I won't stop it. I'll feed him when he wants it."

"Thank you. I love you, and I wouldn't fight you about this if I wasn't feeling it one hundred percent."

"I know that. I'm just...worried."

"Well, don't be. I will protect them and you. And I know you'll do your own protecting."

Leaning her free shoulder into me, she laughed. "I don't think I'll be any use right now. Suddenly, I'm just tired."

Rubbing her back, I said, "You need your nap. Both of you. Come on, let's get inside. It's getting chilly out here."

"What are you going to do?"

I shrugged. "Probably watch tv or chop firewood. It's one of those rare nice days that I can do it."

"That's true."

Fifteen minutes later, I got her and Will tucked into our bed. He looked so tiny compared to her, to the bed. Both of them were out like lights as soon as they hit the mattress.

As I went up the stairs quietly, I couldn't help but laugh at the image of the bed full of kids sleeping beside their mother like pups. Our bed was big enough for it.

Collapsing down on the couch, I turned on the tv...and almost instantly fell asleep in front of it.

* * *

**Let me know what you think! I loved Jacob's speech at the end. He's such a powerful leader, father, and husband. I just really adore him. And I promise more from Walker/Christa and Embry/Tricia. Love you! xoxoxoxoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**HI! So...as you can see, no I am not dead. Many of you asked if I was. I do apologize because I promised to try to not do this again. This chapter is ridiculously long. MY muse has been jumping from story to story all the way from my fanfics to my original stuff. I do have to give a shout out to Sarabee592. She has been _awesome_ in helping me out and giving me support so many kudos to her.**

**Now, is anybody else having issues with how the posting is done now? Like the copy/paste? Or am I just doing it wrong now? If anybody knows the steps, PM me please. I just randomly figure this out and it was a long process so maybe someone can help me make it shorter. Thanks.**

**And now, I present to you...this chapter!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**A couple weeks later...May**

**RPOV**

"Ness, are you sure you want to do this?" Cricket asked for the thousandth time.

She'd cut her hair since the last time I saw her. It was short to her chin in a cute bob with bangs that slanted into her blue-lavender eyes. It was still naturally highlighted with black and auburn. Apparently life was good for her and Trey. He was training for tech school with a mentor trying to get him to an entry level, and Cricket was doing well selling soaps and candles. She also had a job at a bookstore in Port Angeles.

Will was down in his crib napping at the same time he always did in the afternoon. Recently, the sun had been coming out more and more and today was no different. I had all the windows open, a heavenly breeze moving through the house and brushing the curtains.

I turned to her. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because witches can be...hard to live with."

"I thought you said your friend was the most normal witch ever?"

"She is. She's great and good at what she does. But she's also a little weird."

I raised my eyebrows. "Weird how?"

She shrugged. "It's not really something I can explain, but I'll try. Most of the time, she spaces out, randomly touching things. We've known each other for a long time. She's my age. Her specialties are healing and auras. And don't, for the love of God, ask her a question if you can't handle the answer."

I nodded. "And I've agreed to all of that. When is she coming?"

Cricket shook her head like she thought I was an idiot, like I just didn't get it. "Ness, witches, good witches who don't what black Karma, will not perform any sort of reading or magick on any person from whom they don't have permission. Some people don't like magick done on them. So she's waiting for my call because you're going to talk to Seth before I tell her yay or nay."

There was a knock on the door. Seth and Shelby.

"Of course I'm going to ask them first, Cricket," I snapped. "I'm not that manipulative."

Rubbing my rapidly growing belly, I went for the door. Brayden was passed out in his dad's arms while Shelby carried the diaper and toy bag.

"Hey, sweetness."

"Hey, Shelbs. Come on in."

"Hey, Ness," Seth said as he walked past me. Brayden's face was turned away from Seth's neck, his mouth open on Seth's shoulder, passed out cold.

"I don't have a big boy bed yet, but you can put him in the playpen or the crib upstairs if you want. There's another monitor up there." I pointed to mine. "Mine's on the coffee table."

Seth smiled. He looked exhausted, though. "Thanks. I'll put him upstairs."

He hurried up the steps while Shelby and Cricket chatted. Cricket was proud to report that she'd been working with an experienced psychic and could now see visions when she wanted without getting sick. She could now do what our aunt could do: focus on a person or thing to see its future. The plus was, she didn't have any blocks the way our aunt did, nor was it specific to whether or not the person made certain decisions. The only thing was, she couldn't see the journey, just the end result like before.

Seth came back about five minutes later holding the monitor. "Alright, you said you needed to talk to us."

I nodded. "For the record, I don't want to step on any toes, okay? This is completely up to you. Lately, I've noticed that in some ways, Seth, you are getting better, but not in others, like your dreams. I don't think any amount of...talking can help those. So, I had an idea."

Warily, he looked at me. I'd take wary over angry any day. "Okay, I'm listening."

Getting up, I started pacing in front of the fireplace, rubbing my belly. "Okay, so it occurred to me that we may have an explanation for why you came back, which was Shelby's blood. But we never took into consideration that there might be supernatural things that we couldn't explain. Maybe that's why the talks with Carlisle are only going so far. And if there's something supernatural going on, I figured we'd need a supernatural kind of doctor."

Shelby gave me a look. "Such as?"

"A witch."

Seth's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "A witch? Ness, are you listening to yourself? They don't exist."

I looked at Cricket.

She stood up next to me. "I beg to differ. They actually do exist, but you have to separate the posers from the real thing, which isn't easy since they're all practically crazy. Not to mention that most witches live in the south. The north is overrun with werewolves, and they don't get along very well. Though occasionally you do see a witch who's a part of a pack, offering his or her services in exchange for protection."

"Let me guess," Seth said, "you know a witch."

Cricket grinned. "I do."

He motioned to us. "And how long have you two been cooking this up?"

I shrugged. "A couple weeks. I called to ask her if they really existed. She got in touch with her friend and all she's waiting for is your permission to come assess you. Seth, she would never do anything you didn't give her permission for. Apparently, witches really believe in Karma. And of course, I would ask you before even thinking of bringing her here. I just didn't want to mention it to give you false hope if nothing could actually be done."

Cricket sat down on the brick of the fireplace. "My friend is one of the best healers, both physically and metaphysically, of my generation."

"Your generation? You mean, she's a teenager?"

"A very well-trained teenager. Seriously, she's been trained in her craft since she was five. Her entire family is composed of witches. Her family isn't like mine where they cast me out."

Shelby and I shared a look. A spark of hope flared in the green. "And she's willing to come here?"

Cricket nodded. "She and I became good friends. I lived with her for about a year until I saw her with her boyfriend and decided I wanted a love of my own and was forced to go find Trey. Somehow, she's always known where I was and how to get in touch with me, so we've stayed pretty close. All she's waiting for is my call and then she'll be on the next flight."

Shelby and Seth shared a look. Shelby's was desperate and hopeful. She took his hands in hers. "Baby, we've tried everything. Carlisle helps you. I know that. But...what if Nessie's right? What if you coming back brought something with it? It's not totally crazy. We're supernatural beings ourselves. Maybe there's more to just phasing, shifting, and having all this strength. Maybe we have different rules to existence than humans. We're not human anymore."

"Mama Bear has a point," Cricket said. "From what I know of witchcraft and the metaphysical, it sounds like something inside you is broken or open, like a door. When you came back, you may have brought a negative energy with you since you died in a brutal attack." She shrugged. "And I've talked to Mara a little bit. She needed to know exactly what she was dealing with. Until she meets you, that's her best guess. And she's good at guessing."

Leaning his elbows on his knees, Seth's gaze traveled over the three of us. "I really can't believe I'm saying this, but okay." He threw his hands in the air. "I'm out of options, and if there's a chance, then...for my family."

Shelby threw her arms around him. "Thank you! I love you so much."

Cricket pulled her phone out. "Alright, I'll call Mara." She went over to the corner, talking softly. And then she came back, holding the phone to Seth. "She wants to talk to you."

Eyebrows raised again, he gingerly took the phone. "Hello?...Yeah, that's me...yes, I agree to this, although I have to say I'm skeptical." Now, he got a dry look on his face with an eyebrow raised. "You can ask," he said in a tone that said she could ask her question but that didn't mean she'd get an answer. A moment later, he scowled. "Why do you need to know?" he growled out. He sighed and scowled. "Yeah, I have a mate and a son. What of it?" This time he frowned, actually listening to her. "He was conceived and born before I -died...his mother is the kind of werewolf you're aware of. My phasing is genetic...Yes, I was born with the gene to phase." He growled. "No. I'm not a Child of the Moon. I'm a Quileute Native American. We're born with the gene but it's not triggered until vampires are close to us, so we could stay human all our lives, which did happen to my father's generation...Right. No affiliation with the Children of the Moon." Turning toward us, he gave us an exasperated I'm-gonna-kill-her look. Shelby and I stifled laughs. "Thank you."

Hanging up, he handed the phone back to Cricket. "Is she always that blunt?"

Cricket shrugged. "I warned you. So what did she say?"

"She asked about Brayden. And then said that she was getting on the next flight in ten minutes. Does she live by the airport?"

Cricket shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."

Seth frowned. "Then why is she racing out here?"

She looked a bit uncomfortable before saying, "Probably because of Brayden. Now she knows there's a child involved."

Both Seth and Shelby went on alert, boring holes in her with their eyes.

"What about our son?" Shelby asked, voice low and dangerous.

Cricket held her hands up and tried to stay as calm as possible, knowing she was being stared down by two werewolves who were very protective of their son. Shelby's eyes were turning wolf amber.

She held out her hands in a calming gesture. "I'm not saying he's in any danger. But children are vulnerable to negative energies. She's just racing out here to protect him. The sooner she gets her hands on him, the safer he'll be."

Seth growled. "You're saying whatever is happening to me could be affecting my child."

Holding my hands out, I moved between them. "Calm down, guys. Brayden has been acting like himself. I haven't noticed any differences in him."

Seth turned his glare to me. "He's only almost two years old, Ness. There isn't a 'himself' yet."

"Yes, there is. We'd notice if he was acting different. Seth, concentrate. Your son is a happy kid, energetic. If some dark thing was affecting him, he wouldn't be like that, would he?"

"Seth," Cricket said softly, "what happened to you has affected everyone. So far, you've been strong enough to contain that darkness. Remember that you were so worried about hurting other people, especially Shelby and Brayden. You haven't, and that is incredible strength. But, honey, you can't keep that up forever. All Mara is going to do is help you, give you strength. And she's going to help protect your son while you heal. It's been months. I doubt anything is going to happen in the next couple days before she gets here. Just don't lose that control you've gained. Stay calm, and stay with Shelby and Brayden. They help you. Even I can see that."

He remained tense for another couple heartbeats before he blinked and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, he nodded. "Okay. If she can actually help, I guess I'll have to find a way to repay her."

The blood drained from Cricket's face. She shook her head in a fast jerky movement. "Don't you dare! Oh my God! Are you crazy?"

Shelby looked taken aback by the utter terror in Cricket's voice. "What's wrong with that?"

Cricket rolled her eyes with an expression like we were a bunch of uncivilized idiots. "When witches use their special gifts like Mara's healing, you don't pay them. To them, that's their calling from their goddess. It's to be done without expectation of payment. They were given the gift for a reason and they're supposed to use it when called upon. That's another reason why she's rushing out here. When asked for help, it's like a compulsion for her to go where she's needed." Then she became thoughtful. "But if you're bent on wanting to repay in some way, repay me by not staring at her."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know if you'll be able to see through it. You should since you're werewolves and vampires."

"See through what?" Shelby asked.

"It's called a glamour. It's kind of a spell that she uses to make herself look normal."

"Normal?" I asked.

Now she looked a little uncomfortable. "I said witches are weird for a reason. They don't...look human. Well," she amended, "they do, but you know how you have those people who dye their hair bright pink and wear funky contacts?" When we all nodded, she said, "Well that's somewhat how they look, but naturally. So they play down the looks by glamouring their hair to a nondescript brown and eyes to blue or whatever."

"So what does she look like?" I asked genuinely curious.

Cricket grinned. "I'm not going to tell you. I want to see if you can see through glamours."

The three of us groaned in unison.

And then, Will woke up, making fussy noises through the monitor. I went to get him. He needed a diaper change and a pacifier. As soon as he was on my hip, Jules started kicking, slowly at first before picking up in both speed and strength. Geez. Hopefully she'd be here sooner rather than later. Being pregnant wasn't fun. I just liked the end result of holding the child I was growing.

When I got upstairs, Brayden was awake and playing with some of his toys that Shelby had brought over even though she was gathering their stuff to leave. He had an appointment with Carlisle, a checkup.

Seth stood up. "So what does Jake think about this?"

I shrugged as Will dug his hand into my hair. "I don't know."

His eyes widened. "You didn't talk to him?"

I gave him steady eyes. "Seth, right now, I'm more concerned with helping you. I will deal with my husband. Besides, he'll agree to anything that would benefit his family, and you are family." I shooed them out of the house. "Now go. Carlisle's expecting you. I will talk to Jacob tonight. I promise."

Grumbling about women, Seth picked up his son, who was a just a mini version of his father. Russet skin and black hair. In fact, he and Will looked like they could be brothers with different color eyes. Except Will had lighter skin, probably due to me. Shelby's Asian heritage helped to darken her son's skin.

Shelby ushered them toward the door with a smile at me. "Thank you so much, Nessie. I'm glad that you thought of this. Even if it doesn't work, thank you."

Seth smiled over at me. "Yeah. Thanks, Ness."

Smiling, I said, "You're very welcome. I'd do anything to protect you guys. You know that."

"Clearly," Seth said dryly. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Witches," as he walked out the door.

Shelby laughed at him. "We'll see you later, Ness. Thanks again."

I smiled back. "Let me know how the checkup goes."

"Will do," she said before closing the door behind her.

Cricket stood up. "Well, I should probably go, too. Trey's probably having a fit. Every time he gets irritated with studies, he uses me as a distraction. I've been gone for a while now already."

Going over to her, I hugged her with my free arm. "Thank you so much for helping out."

She awkwardly wrapped her arms around my baby bump and my son. "You're welcome. I wish I'd thought of it before. Mara's really good at what she does. If she doesn't know how to help him, she'll know who will." She kissed Will on the cheek and played with his hand. "You're too stinkin' cute, kid. And you're gonna be a badass." Then she bent to my stomach. "You, too, princess." Smiling at me again, she said, "I'll call you when she gets in."

"Thanks. Be safe out there."

"Always." When she got to the door, her hand paused on the knob. Turning toward me, she frowned like she was thinking too hard. Her eyes moved like she was seeing something not in the room.

"What?"

"The baby. Jules."

I turned cautious. She was having a vision. "What about her?"

"Expect her next month. Not July. Early next month." Her eyes focused again, this time on Will with a considering glance. She smiled. "He's going to be protective of her. Very protective. And they're going to be close when they get older. All of your children are."

My eyebrows shot up. "All?"

This smile was small and secretive. "All. See ya later."

And then she was gone, leaving me to wonder what the hell she was talking about.

**JPOV**

The counter was cluttered with paperwork. I'd washed my hands of the oil and grease so that I could go through it. Xavier was trained enough that I trusted him to do small jobs on his own. Embry made sure to watch over him for me. I'd been up here for an hour going through all these papers. Organization was not my strong point. Maybe I needed to find a female to work the counter. Shannon or Tricia, maybe. Or Leah.

The door behind me that led into the garage swung open. Xavier stepped up beside me, wiping his hands on a rag and whistled low when he saw the papers. "And here I thought you were good at everything."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Nessie organizes all our papers at home. She scans them into a computer so we don't have to deal with this mess. All the papers are in boxes in our furnished attic."

"Damn. You have four floors to your house?"

"I guess so," I said distractedly while I studied a piece of paper. "Whatchya need?"

He clammed up.

Looking over, I saw the puppy dog expression. "Spit it out."

He let out a breath. "Can I please use your truck tonight? I have my license now."

"Why do you need it?"

"I have a date with Shannon. I want to take her to Port Angeles for a nice dinner since I have the money to now."

Eying him, I realized that he'd been acting weird all day, nervous and distracted. "Nice dinner, huh?" Busying myself again, I said as offhandedly as I could, "You wouldn't happen to be proposing, would you?"

His reaction told me all I needed to know. Spluttering, he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "How did you-"

"Know?" I finished for him. "Dude, I'm a guy with a wife. I can recognize the signs, kid."

"Do you have to call me that?"

"You're a kid to me."

"I'm eighteen."

"With a seventeen year old girlfriend."

His eyes narrowed. "You're trying to talk me out of proposing, aren't you?"

Sighing, I set down my papers. "Xavier, I know you love her. I know she loves you. But in a lot of ways, people see you as just teenagers. Not a werewolf with his true mate. Maybe I'm wrong to say that I think you should take it slower."

"We've been dating for a year," he exclaimed incredulously.

Inhaling patience as well as air, I put a hand on his shoulder. "I know that." But when I met his eyes, I couldn't seem to carry on with my argument. He seemed so hurt that I wasn't more supportive, and that's what he needed in his life. Regretting opening my mouth, I squeezed his neck. "You know what? Forget I said anything. If you're that sure of her, and it seems like you are, ask her. I'll be rooting for you, okay? I shouldn't have said anything. Only you know what's between the two of you."

Shaking his head, jaw locked, he pulled away from me. "You're just saying that because you don't want me pissed at you."

"Xavier, no. You're right I don't want you pissed, but that's not what made me change my tune."

"What then?" he spat.

"You trust me, and want me to support you. I guess I was trying to compare you and Shannon to me and Ness, which wasn't right. I've known Nessie her entire life. Things were different for us. I'm sorry. In all this time you've been dating, I've never seen or heard about a fight. You always come in here smiling. And it's your life. Like I said, only the two of you know the true relationship between you. I shouldn't have dragged you down."

The anger had died down, but he still watched me suspiciously. "You still think it's too soon."

"Maybe for her. Not for you. She's been brought up in the human world where in this generation, seventeen year olds only get married because they're pregnant and their dad will kill the father if he didn't do 'the right thing'. Have you discussed marriage yet?"

He nodded. "Yeah we have actually."

"And what you talked about told you that she'd say yes?"

This time, he wasn't so quick to answer. "I don't know. I mean, I know she wants to marry me. She told me as much. Just not when. Am I wrong? Am I going too fast? I just want what you and Nessie have, I guess."

Sighing, I leaned back against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. "Xavier, marriage isn't anything like you've ever known. It's not as easy as it seems. It's not just having a big, fancy gathering and saying some vows before going home with rings on your fingers. There's a lot to consider. Are you going to have joint bank accounts? Do you want kids immediately? Jobs, school, your own place to live. Vehicles, changing names. But not only that. There's a certain responsibility to her as her husband. People will look at you differently. They'll recognize you as her man; they'll know that you made a pretty powerful commitment to her, that she's your female. Period. That's a pretty loud statement."

"Is that how it was with you and Nessie?"

Of course he would ask, but this was a tricky question. There had probably never been a relationship like mine with Nessie. "Again, our relationship was very different. I'd been there all her life. Hell, as weird as it sounds, I helped deliver her when she was born. And now I'm helping her deliver our own children. My point is, I made my loud commitments and statements, but only when it fell into place. Don't force it because that's where you think you're supposed to be. When the time is right, you'll feel it in no uncertain terms. And don't force yourself to feel it," I said with a stern gaze. "I know you."

For a long moment, he considered what I was telling him. He nodded. "You're right. But can I still use your truck? I still want to take her to dinner."

Sighing, I dug into my pocket for the keys. "Use the GPS. Don't want you getting lost."

Grinning, he caught them when I threw them. "Thanks. I've been planning this dinner for a while now."

"Well, go enjoy yourself. Just no hanky-panky in my truck. My kid sits in that cab. And if you want to take the car seat out, drop it at my dad's or my place before you go pick her up."

Out of all of that, he took, "'Hanky-panky'?"

I gave him a look. "I was eighteen once…well, that was after Nessie was born so, let's change that to, I was a teenager once with female crushes. And I know a teenager's sex drive. The bed of the truck is fine, just not the cab."

Pushing his hands out in a "whoa" motion, he said, "You're encouraging me to have sex with my girlfriend?"

Something about the way he said it made me ask, "You haven't yet, have you?"

To my surprise, he blushed. The red crept up his neck, highlighting his scars, and into his cheeks.

"Oh wow. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know exactly. Just feel like I should apologize."

He laughed. "Don't." He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't know if he could.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Surprise made him look at me. "I thought only women talked about their sex lives?"

I shook my head. "Myth. Have you two talked about _that_?"

Nodding, he traced a finger over a piece of paper, not meeting my eyes. "Yeah, we have. She wants to. She says that she loves me and wants to have that connection with me."

"That's great," I said, but I suspected there was more coming.

Those broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I guess." Quickly, he looked up. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I want her, like really bad. But…what if I do it wrong or something?"

Without even thinking about it, I started laughing. He frowned at me and I sobered up. "Xavier, I was a virgin before Ness and I got together. Believe me, I was terrified, too. Treated her like she was glass because I'm so much bigger than she is. But really, again, just go with the flow. You'll know what to do. I'm not saying you should go off thumping like rabbits, but also, I'm not old-fashioned in that I think you should be married first. Ness and I weren't. Shannon will tell you, maybe not in words, what she likes when the time comes."

Opening his mouth to say something, he was cut off with the door swinging open. Embry walked in, looking between us at our expressions. Mine was pleasantly amused. Xavier's was flushed and nervous. Eyebrows raised, Embry asked, "What did I interrupt?"

"The sex talk," I answered. "The one where they're still virgins and he's nervous."

"Hey!" Xavier shouted incredulously.

Embry chuckled. "Don't worry, man. I won't say anything. One question, though."

Xavier shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"She up for it?"

While Xavier started flushing again, I studied Embry. Since he'd gotten together with and married Tricia he didn't seem as…fragile. Nor as introverted. Now he was more confident, stronger, self-composed. He was also a little bit frightening at times. When I'd talked to Nessie about it, she'd giggled behind her hand. Apparently, in the bedroom with Tricia, he was a dominant male, rough yet taking care of his woman. According to Ness, Tricia left bloodied furrows in his flesh and he left behind dark bruises on her fair skin. And she wasn't complaining. He had the air about him of a man that you didn't really want to mess with, not if you liked your balls attached to your body.

Finally, Xavier managed an answer. "Yeah, she is."

"And she wants to be with you, right?"

He nodded.

Embry chuckled. "Seriously, man. Jake and I have both been there. Don't be embarrassed talking to us. I'm assuming you've had pretty hot make out sessions?"

Taking to heart what Embry had just said, Xavier straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin when he nodded, dropping the shy teenager routine. "Yeah, we have."

Embry and I shared a grin. "Good," he said. "Just take one a bit further; see how she reacts. Move from there. It'll come to you in the moment." He clapped a hand on Xavier's shoulder. "You're an attractive, smart guy who loves his woman. She'll give you hints."

Xavier smiled. "Thanks."

"We don't see you as a child, Xavier," I said. "I hope you didn't take it that way what I said to you."

"No, of course not."

"We know what it's like to grow up fast. Having a huge growth spurt at sixteen to make us look twenty and then phasing was rough on us. And the huge responsibility of protecting the rez and Forks wasn't easy either. You had to grow up after what happened to you with your old pack leader and the kids. And we respect you for it."

"Definitely," Embry agreed.

He shrugged sheepishly. "It wasn't really a thought. When I saw him go after Haleigh, I just moved. A child should never be abused, especially by a leader."

"Agreed," Embry said. "But it was still a badass move."

"Good to know that there's someone to keep Walker in line," I said, amused.

"How is Walker, by the way?" Embry asked.

Xavier laughed. "Christa wants to move to the little village, but Walker is nervous about taking Haleigh away from Claire. I think he just has commitment issues, leaving the rez, really taking over. Having the packs mixed was easier, but now, our pack is separated out from yours, and he's feeling the leader pressures. Besides with Calahan being gone now, Walker has sort of lost his tether to the other packs."

"What about Caden?"

Xavier shuffled around uncomfortably. "Caden sort of has a reputation among the Children to hate being in a pack. That's why we were all surprised when we heard he'd joined up with Tristan. All the packs heard what had happened to his family. It's customary to mourn the loss of another wolf when we hear about it, but he wanted nothing to do with us. I know he knows about being a pack leader. He's an alpha in his own right, but ever since he was turned, he's hated the idea of being a pack leader. Even though many of our community would follow him."

"Why?"

Again, he looked uncomfortable but resigned to the fact that he was going to spill. "Even though he never had a pack of his own, he protected members of packs, standing up to all those wolves. He never backed down and made sure that they were safe before he left them. See, Calahan still lives in the past where fear rules everything. Edmund, before he lost his mind, wasn't anything like that. He was kind and gentle, cared about us. Caden had traveled all over, preaching to other leaders about what kindness could do for their packs. A lot of pack leaders and their mates started changing the way they were acting. Tenderness became common. All the wolves that Caden had protected would come to his side in a heartbeat if he was wanting to start a pack of his own."

I shared another look with Embry. "I wonder why he doesn't," I murmured.

Xavier snorted. "He's an omega, a loner. The only responsibility he wants is for himself. In fact, I'm surprised he's stayed with Leah this long. A lot of omegas won't stay with a mate, even a true mate or even a pregnant mate."

Silence followed that, Embry and I lost in thought.

Xavier looked at his watch. "Sorry, but I gotta cut this history lesson short. Shannon's expecting me home in a few minutes and I still gotta shower before we go. Thanks for letting me borrow the truck."

Holding out my hand to him, I said, "Sure, man. And good job today. Oh, and bring my truck back in one piece. That's all I ask."

"Thanks. And I will. Promise."

He and Embry said bye, shook hands, and then he was gone.

Embry shook his head. "Nice kid. Tough, too."

I nodded. "Absolutely."

He knocked my shoulder. "Why don't you head out? I have a few things to finish up to get this car done."

"Tricia okay with that?"

He shrugged. "We don't have kids yet. You do. Go home. I'll clean up the papers."

"Thanks." And because I couldn't help myself, I said, "You seem different with Tricia."

He raised his eyebrows.

I shrugged. "Just an observation. Just more mature, I guess. More dominant than I remember."

Laughing, he went for the door that led into the garage. "If I remember correctly, you became more mature when Nessie came along."

"Good point."

"Go. Home."

With that, I said my goodbyes and left. I stopped at Billy's since I was walking but he wasn't there. Leaving my clothes there, I phased and ran home.

_Hey, Jake!_ I heard all around me.

_Hey, guys. How're things?_

_Great! _Lucas's voice was the loudest, grabbing my attention. _No weird scents or anything. Walker's patrols overlap with ours, and they have no action either. Still blissfully quiet._

_Good. Keep it up, guys. I appreciate it._

_How's Ness? _Sadie asked.

Mentally, I smiled. _She's great. Thanks for asking. The baby is expected next month. And she has a name. _

They all bombarded me with wanting to know. There was even a threat to my eyeballs if I didn't spill immediately. That was Alana.

Laughing, I thought, _Alright, alright. Julene Sarabella. Jules for short._

_Wow, _Sadie thought. _Next month? She must really be growing fast. _

_She is, but don't worry. She's healthy. And so is Nessie._

_How's Will?_

I grinned at the thought of my son and how popular he was. _He'll be walking in no time. He's growing faster, probably trying to keep up with his sister._

They all laughed.

_You guys be good out there. Don't work too hard. You need time off, let me or Seth know._

Acknowledgment flowed down the mental wire to me before I phased back and slipped into some sweats that were stashed under the porch for such occasions. When I walked in the door, Will was banging on the pots and pans again. Nessie was holding her phone to her ear while trying to fold the clothes.

She looked up when I came in. Will's attention turned to me when he heard the door close. Thankfully the banging on the pan stopped. Grinning, he rolled onto his hands and knees and crawled to me.

I scooped him up against my chest. "Keepin' Mom on her toes, huh?" He grinned around the pacifier, little hand hitting my bare skin. I kissed his cheek. "That's my man."

"He just walked in…yes, I promised I would. So let me get off the phone…uh huh. Promise…Okay, bye." She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes.

I raised my eyebrows. "Something up?"

Instead of answering, she narrowed her eyes at me. "Why are you in sweats and nothing else? Didn't you just come home from work? Or is there something I should know?"

Rolling my eyes, I went to her where she was standing at the dining table and kissed her. "Yes, there is another woman. I've been stopping at her house for a surprisingly quick quickie before coming home to you and our son every night. We take breaks on the days I'm off work to avoid suspicion. You caught me." All of it was said in a flat, dry tone.

Grinning, Nessie rubbed her belly. "Stop talking. Your daughter's killing me."

Bending down, I kissed her belly. "Sorry, Jules. I come home to your mother, your brother, and _you_ every night."

In my arms, Will leaned forward, just pressing himself against his mother, one arm wrapped around her. Against my hand, I felt Jules kick excitedly over and over.

Nessie winced. "I told you that she knows your voice. She gets more active when you talk or touch me."

"How does she know I'm the one touching you?"

She grinned again. "Probably because my heart races whenever my gorgeous husband is near me."

"Still?"

Shrugging, she went back to folding clothes. "I'm still madly in love with you. In fact, you still give me butterflies."

"Are you sure that's not just Jules punching your organs?"

Giving me a look, she threw a tiny shirt at me. "Just take the damn compliment."

I walked over to her and kissed her hair. "You still give me the butterflies, too, baby," I whispered.

She smiled sweetly, hiding her face with her hair.

"So who were you talking to when I came in?" I asked, sitting down. I sat Will on the table away from the neatly folded clothes so he wouldn't mess them up. Instead, I gave him one of his toys sitting on the table.

"Cricket," she said, folding one of my t-shirts.

"Wow, haven't heard from her in a while. How is she?"

"Really good, actually. She came over today."

"Really? Why?"

Carefully, she placed and arranged the shirt on a pile in such a way that told me she was stalling. "Well," she started and sat down in a chair. "You know how Seth is still having some issues?"

I nodded, picking up the toy when Will dropped it into my lap.

"And you know how, when we first met Cricket, we were skeptical about the whole psychic thing?" When I nodded, she went on. "I had a thought that maybe there was another supernatural being that could help, so I talked to Cricket. Turns out, I was right."

"And what is that?"

"A witch."

I just blinked at her. "A witch?"

"Yes. Just so happens that Cricket knows one…and she's on her way to Forks."

I was silent for so long that she just stared at me. "I feel like I'm missing part of this conversation, Ness."

Leaning forward, her elbows on the table, she clasped her hands. "Okay. Carlisle is helping Seth; we all know that. But we all also know that there's still something going on. And I feel that it has something to do with his resurrection. I mean, Jacob, people just don't come back to life, even with mixing blood. My question is, what did he bring back with him? Where was he, the…thing that makes Seth who he is? So maybe it's not a therapist or physical therapy that he needs. Maybe it's…what word did she use?...metaphysical. Something we can't see. Mara, that's the witch, thinks that it could be some sort of dark energy. I really don't understand, but maybe she could explain it better when she gets here."

Apparently, my expression was turning into something she didn't like because she kept talking, only faster. "But anyway, she lives in the south. Cricket said that witches and werewolves don't get along very well. Since the north is mostly populated with wolves, they live in the south. And apparently, they look weird and cover it with something called a glamour."

"Ness," I stopped her quietly, part of what she'd just said making alarms go off in my head.

She swallowed so hard, I could hear it.

"You invited a witch, someone with some sort of abilities, to our land without talking to me first?"

Confusion and hurt took residence in her eyes. "Jacob, I did this to help Seth. Cricket assured me that Mara is a good person."

Flexing my hands into fists, the knuckles cracked with my arms framing my son. Fury washed through me, but I contained it with my kid so close to me. I was in control of the phasing now.

"Renesmee, do you not understand what you just told me? Witches and werewolves don't get along. We have a _son_ who is part werewolf. You are pregnant with the daughter of a werewolf. _What_ were you thinking? We should have talked about this. Did you even ask Seth if it was okay that this woman do stuff to him?"

Eyes on the table and an expression like she couldn't believe I wasn't having the reaction she expected, she nodded slightly. "Yes," she whispered.

That threw me off. "What?"

"I spoke to him and Shelby today." Her voice was still soft. "Only when he agreed did Cricket call her. Mara wouldn't do anything against someone's will. Seth even talked to her. He didn't have any problems. From what Cricket has told me, she's a healer. Every witch is compelled to go where their gift is needed. Cricket called in a favor with a girl she knows very well, lived with her even, and Mara is coming to help. She's even concerned about Brayden." Her eyes raised to mine for a moment before going back to the table. "Jacob, I never meant for you to take this like I was going behind your back. I always had every intention of saying something."

Shifting in my seat, I tried to soften my tone. "Then why didn't you beforehand?"

"Because I made a promise. And that promise had something to do with me not telling you that I was talking to Cricket."

"You're not going to tell me what the promise was?" I knew my tone was accusatory but I couldn't help it. We'd promised not to keep things from each other.

She shook her head. "All I'll tell you is that one of our females finally needed another female to talk to. I promised her confidentiality. But while we were talking, I had a thought about Seth and his problems. I knew yesterday if you saw me texting Cricket, you'd ask, and I knew I'd tell you. And like I told Seth, I just wanted to know if there was any solidity to my thought before going to anyone with the idea. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up." She laughed, but it was bitter like unsweetened tea. "I guess Seth was right when he was surprised that I hadn't told you, but I promised him I'd tell you tonight, so I did."

Will threw his toy against my chest and became fussy. He was hungry. To give myself time to think and something to do, I put him in his high chair and grabbed some food and filled his sippy cup. I noticed that Nessie hadn't cooked, but a phonebook was open to pizza places and some cash next to it.

While I watched the chicken spin in the microwave, I thought about what we'd just talked about. If the witch, Mara, was on her way here already and Seth had agreed to see her, my only option was to watch over them, make sure she wasn't a danger to my family or pack. After the chicken heated up, I put in the vegetables, mashed potatoes and green beans.

The doorbell rang. Behind me, Nessie got up and grabbed the money off the counter. A couple minutes later, she was back with two large pizzas, setting them out on the counter. I took Will's food out and put it on the counter to cool a little.

Moving around me, Nessie's eyes stayed downcast, her demeanor shrunken and closed in on herself. Unable to stand it, I put my hands on her shoulders. She didn't turn to me and didn't look at me. Turning her myself, I pulled her against my chest. After a long moment, she tentatively put her arms around me, barely touching me. No return pressure.

"Nessie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. But you have to understand that this scares me. Something we know nothing about. And we barely know Cricket. As much as I love her, we don't know her, Nessie. This just screams of the times that you acted first without thinking about your actions. That doesn't fly anymore, not now that we have a child, now that you're carrying our second."

In my arms, she shook, her fingers clawing and gripping at my skin. Her warm tears traced down my chest and stomach.

"I understand that, Jacob. Really, I do. That's _why _I went to Cricket. I _do _trust her after what all she's done for us. Something that I didn't tell you was that even though witches and werewolves don't get along very well, there are witches who ally themselves with packs. Cricket said they offer their services in exchange for protection. Mara's one of the nice ones. I asked her about it further on the phone. She said that Mara's family lives near a pack. They protect each other."

Rubbing my hands up her back, I said, "Why didn't you say that sooner?"

"I didn't…I guess…Sorry. I didn't think about it until now. You getting this upset threw me off."

Her hair was loose down her back and I stroked it. Will was amusing himself with his sippy cup so we could have this moment to ourselves.

Sighing, I asked, "When is she supposed to be here?"

"I don't know. She hopped on a plane not long after she spoke to Seth. Cricket said she'd call me when she got in. Mara's staying with her in Port Angeles."

Letting out a deep breath, I nodded. "Okay. If Seth agreed, I'll go along with it. But next time, tell me. And I'm making that an order, Nessie."

She pulled back to study my face in surprise.

I nodded again, firmly. "Yes. An order. The next time you want to invite someone or something to our land, you talk to me first. Period."

And now I realized why I was so angry. It wasn't the fact that Mara may or may not be dangerous. It was that Nessie had invited a stranger to our territory without consulting me, the pack leader, her mate and alpha. Even though she was alpha female, I was the alpha male. The wolf inside me didn't like that she'd done what she had. It was a form of disobedience that could cause trouble. He wanted to punish her, but wouldn't dare with her pregnant with his young.

Moving back, I slid my hands down her arms to grip her fingers. "Ness, listen to me. I was and am angry because no matter what type of werewolf I am, I am still the alpha male, the leader of this pack. The wolf inside me sees this as you disobeying me by not running the idea by me first. And I'm inclined to agree. My ordering you is letting you know that I'm pissed off."

For a long moment, she just watched me. And then, gently, she took her hands out of mine. "I understand." Swallowing hard, she put her hands to her belly and dropped her eyes. "I'm not hungry anymore. I think I'm just going to go lay down." Turning around, she went to kiss Will's forehead, and then shuffled to the stairs that descended to the bedroom.

"Ness-"

"Jacob," she said sharply, stopping with her hand on the frame of the door, not turning around. "I understand the order. And of course I'm going to follow it. I'd never ignore an order from you. Also, you're right. I can see that. But I'm tired and need some time to myself. You need to spend some time with your son."

With that, she opened the baby gate and closed it behind her before disappearing down the stairs. For a moment, I just stared at the empty doorway where she'd just been standing before Will was done amusing himself. Sighing, I went to grab his food. It had to be reheated for a few seconds. I wasn't hungry anymore either, but I still ate a few slices of the pizza while I fed my son.

Even he wasn't as peppy as he usually was.

"Guess Mommy is upset with me. I know you don't get why, but hopefully someday you'll understand why I had to do that. Of course, you won't remember this." He stuffed his hand in the green beans. I snorted. "Who am I kidding? This will probably happen again."

After I got us both fed, I went to the upstairs bathroom, cleaned him up from the dirty diaper before giving him a bath. Once he was scrubbed clean, I put him in his jammies and sat on the couch. A fight was on Spike channel so I kept it there. Will seemed to be interested in it, his eyes following the movements of the fighters. Gently gripping his arms, played with him, jabbing out with his hands. He laughed and giggled, bouncing on my thighs.

Hugging him to my chest, I kissed the top of his head. "Daddy will teach you to fight. I'll make sure you're the strongest man you can be so you can protect your own family someday, so you can be a strong alpha."

He leaned back against me, craning his head around to look at me. He gave me a toothy grin. And for what felt like the first time, I truly looked at him. Not as a baby in general, but as _my _son. His skin was russet but lighter than Brayden's. A rich caramel mixed with a drop of copper from a penny. His eyes were also caramel but without the copper. The sticky, gooey dipping stuff that you saw on apples. His midnight hair was streaked with more copper from Nessie. And his face was the same heart shape of hers, the same as Bella's. The high, sharp cheekbones that I could see under the pudginess would save him from being too pretty. The rest of him would fill out as he got older. It was strange to think that I was holding a mini me in my arms, the same way Billy must have held me when I was a baby. I'd never really given much thought to how much I looked like Billy or my mother, but I always felt a pang of awareness when I saw pictures.

Thinking back to those pictures, I could also see my mother in my son. Even though he was just a baby, his personality was the way I remembered hers. Open, playful. Easy to smile, hard to upset. He was quiet the way she was, rarely fussing. Just watching the environment around him. My mother had been the same way. She'd always sit outside and watch me and my sisters play, a smile on her face, eyes watchful.

My heart clenched with the thought that Will would never meet her. I missed her terribly even though I didn't have near the memories that my sisters did. Just bits and pieces. Often I'd wanted to confront the man that had hit her, taken her from me before I'd ever gotten to know her. I wanted to tell him that her son would never know what it was like to have a mother's touch growing up because he'd decided to drink and drive, running a stop sign in the rain. But Nessie had convinced me otherwise because he'd served time, and knew that what he'd done was wrong. He'd paid for his crime even if it wasn't near long enough. She'd told me that sometimes, an eye for an eye is not the best solution. "An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind," she'd said, quoting someone that I didn't remember now. The man had had a young daughter at the time. She was now grown with her own family, like me. And through the vine, I'd heard that she didn't talk to him much after she'd found out what he'd done. I was both happy and saddened by that. Before Will, I'd just been happy. But sad now, because my soul would break if my own son thought me a monster and wanted nothing to do with me. I loved him more than anything, as much as I loved Nessie. Which meant that I loved him more and more with each day that passed, the same as I did with his mother. The same as any child I would have with her.

Just the thought of something happening to Nessie, that Will would have to grow up without her, him and Jules, made me feel empty. What would I do with two infants without their mother? How would I raise them on my own? What would I tell them about their mother? No words I had would ever tell them how amazing she was, how much I loved her. How my heart beat for her.

And with that thought, my body hurt with how much I wanted her in my arms. To hold her. But I was giving her the space that she wanted, spending time with Will.

Looking down, I found him passed out, back against my stomach. The pacifier was dangling from loose lips. Instead of immediately getting up and putting him to bed, I watched him after putting the pacifier on the table. I was lounging back against the couch, Will against me. He slid to the side in his sleep, his head resting on my arm. Little nails dug into my wrist where he gripped it.

I just stared at him.

So tiny. Helpless. It was my job to protect him. But the thought came that as he got older, I'd have to back off, to let him experience life. Get hurt, lose trust. Love, and then experience heartbreak. If he were lucky, he'd have a danger free life. My hopes weren't high, however. Our world was still changing. The Volturi were gone for now, but there were others. These witches or other Children of the Moon could stir up trouble. I felt like my life was going through a series of earthquakes. Standing on smooth ground before Bella. Earthquake with Bella. Steady with Nessie. Shaky with the Volturi. Then peace…until now. Witches. Really? What were my son and his siblings going to have to go through? My only hope was that they would go through it together.

Sighing, I gave into the fact that I needed some sleep. Instead of going downstairs, I went up, deciding to give the upstairs nursery a whirl. Luckily, his favorite sleep companion, the wolf, was sitting on the table. I dragged myself upstairs and put him down in the barely used crib. I'd decorated it similarly to the one downstairs. Instead of blue though, I'd painted it a deep gold.

Will went down easily. I took the chance to clip his nails. After that, I grabbed the baby monitor and went for one of the extra bedrooms. As I sank down into the mattress, I thought about the other bedroom. Both of these rooms would have to be redecorated if we were going to have another kid after Jules. Just another thing to worry about.

In moments, I was out like a light.

**The Next Morning…**

A phone that I didn't remember bringing up to the room blared out a tone I didn't recognize. It wasn't my phone.

Eyes shooting open, I was staring at a ceiling that was generic and yet one that was unfamiliar. Something warm and heavy was on my shoulder. My arm was pinned to the mattress with something soft and hard at the same time. The something moved, silky skin sliding over mine. More silk traveled over my chest. I looked down in time to see a bronze curl slide across my skin, making me shiver, goosebumps shooting up and down my body.

"Hello?" Nessie's voice was rough with sleep. "Uh-huh. Have you called Seth?...Well call him. It's him she's here to see…Okay. Call me back."

With a sigh, Nessie threw the phone on the table and collapsed onto her back. Her long hair was still partially on me, draped over me like a sheet. When I moved to lay on my side, she moved just her head to look at me.

She smiled tiredly. "Good morning."

Reaching up, I played my fingers through her hair, something I hadn't done for a long time. "Good morning. Did you just now come up here?"

She shook her head. "I woke up cold and realized you'd never come down, so I came up to find you." Her fingers lightly traced patterns on my wrist. "No matter what, I can't sleep without you through the night. Naps are okay, but long periods of time?" She shook her head. "It bothers me. And Jules, too. She had a fit until I found you and rested by belly against you."

"Nessie-"

She held up a hand. "I don't want to talk about last night. It's over. It's done. We're in understanding, okay? Let's just worry about today."

Wanting to argue with her but not wanting to upset her further, I let it go. Lacing my fingers with hers, I brought her hand to my lips. "Okay. But let me just say, I love you. You know that, right? I mean, that's why I got so mad-"

She put her hand to my lips. "Hush. Honestly, do you have to ask if I know you love me? Of course I know you love me. Just, lately, we've been acting so…human…that it's hard to remember what we are, you know? I swear I wasn't mad at you last night. I understand everything you said to me."

Deciding again to let it go, I rubbed my hand over her belly. Jules kicked making Nessie wince.

"Every damn time," she hissed.

Chuckling, I kissed her temple. "Sorry. So who was on the phone?"

"Cricket. Mara wants to see Seth. Mom said she'd watch Will and Brayden for us today after I texted her last night. I thought you'd want to be there for Seth just in case. And I want to be there for Shelby."

"Of course. I guess we should get the brat up."

She laughed. "No, let's wait until Cricket calls back. He's doing so well with his sleep schedule. I don't want to interrupt it. Besides, he slept up here. Let him break in the crib."

I shrugged. "Just eight more months, we can try to get him in a big boy bed like Brayden."

We both got quiet, both of us probably thinking about how quickly our family was coming together. Will was growing more and more every day as well as Jules. Carlisle was confident in her arrival next month. We'd have two babies. Two! Even though it was happening, I still couldn't believe that I was going to be a father twice. Nessie as a mother was just natural, but it was still hard to believe that these two babies were part of me. My love for them, though, kept letting me know that they were indeed my own children.

A few minutes later, her phone rang. And this time, the sound woke up our son. Crawling over her, I kissed her and told her, "I'll get him."

She nodded and accepted the call.

Padding across the third floor, I went for the nursery. Will had pulled himself into a stand, holding onto the wooden bars of the crib. His stuffed wolf was at his feet. Face red and streaked with tears, he was full out wailing by the time I picked him up. He calmed a bit when I pulled him to my chest and rubbed his back.

Rocking him around, I picked up the stuff to change him into. "I know, buddy. I hate mornings, too. They royally suck."

As I laid him out to change his diaper, he took the pacifier I offered. While I went through the motions, the color in his face died down to normal russet as he calmed down. Snapping him into some coveralls, I picked him up and held him over my head. He laughed when I flew him around, randomly blowing on his tummy.

"What a way to wake up in the morning," Nessie said behind me, her tone colored with amusement.

Sitting him down across my arm so his back to my chest, I grinned at her. "I know, right? I'm just that awesome." She rolled her eyes as I asked, "So was that Cricket?"

She nodded. "They're hopping in the car. About an hour drive." Reaching out for Will, she said, "I'll take him and get breakfast ready."

Clutching him to me, I turned playfully. "Excuse me, woman. Last time I checked we're both his parents. You fix breakfast for us and I will worry about his Cheerios and milk."

Her look of exasperation was another eye roll. "Fine. I'll go make some waffles. Since you want to be Super Daddy this weekend, you get to pack up a bag for him. Mom is going to come pick him up in a little while. Mara wants to stay away from the Cullen place. Apparently the vampire stuff will mess with her mojo or something like that, so we're going to be at Seth and Shelby's."

I nodded once. "Got it." Reaching into the crib, I grabbed the wolf. "He's ready to go, Mama Bear."

She gave me a dry look. "Ha ha."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "They have tons of extra clothes and diapers down there. Make Alice use everything she buys. Why should I pack anything?"

She gave me that look again. "Just pack something, Jake. Don't be rude."

Mock griping at her, I went for the bag under the crib. Since I wasn't wearing a shirt for him to hold onto, Will's newly clipped claws grasped at my skin, his head against my chest while I packed the bag. He had that look on his face that told me he was exactly like me: not a morning person. Those honey eyes were still heavy with sleep. Now that he was in someone's arms, he was fine. I was told that he only screamed like that when he woke up in the mornings with nobody in his eyesight. Made complete sense.

The one cool thing about being a supernatural parent was that I could hear when he was hungry. Shouldering the bag, I gripped him tighter to me. "Alright, little man. Let's go get you some food. I'm sure there's a banana down there just waiting for you."

The smell of waffles and bacon hit me on my way down the stairs. Will was snoozing against my neck when I sat down at the table. Instead of waking him up, I just rocked him. Nessie had put out his food, but that could wait. I wanted him to get his sleep more than that. He'd wake up when the hunger became too urgent to ignore.

Nessie was moving around the kitchen, humming and rubbing her belly while she cooked. A glass of blood sat on the counter next to her elbow. She'd already drunk half of it.

"Okay," I said, rocking my son. "He's ready to go."

Nessie went rigid, a hiss whistling through her teeth. "For the rest of this pregnancy, you are not allowed to talk," she gritted out, glaring at me over her shoulder.

I shrugged, whispering, "Oops. Daddy's girl."

After a moment, she straightened up and finished cooking.

While we ate, Will snoozed against my chest. After breakfast, Ness and I took turns in the shower. He was still asleep when I came up the stairs scrubbing my hair with a towel. Not even when Bella and Edward came over to pick him up with Brayden already packed up with them. Brayden was wide awake and looking around the house. Every time I saw him, he looked more and more like Seth, except the eyes. They were as sharp and green as Shelby's.

I handed a still-sleeping Will over to Edward. Though Will had fallen asleep with Edward multiple times, the grandfather was always surprised when Will cuddled up to him the way he was doing now, burying his face in Edward's neck. Little fingers grasped the collar of his shirt. Edward held him gingerly, rubbing his back.

"So what are you guys gonna do today?" I asked, slipping into a shirt that Nessie handed me.

Bella shrugged with Brayden in her arms. "Don't know. Might go to Port Angeles and shop around. Supposed to be cloudy but no rain. Have a grandparent day with Sue and Charlie."

Nessie came up beside me. "That sounds like fun," she said, braiding her hair over her shoulder. "Mom, Jacob packed a bag for Will. I wrote down his normal schedule just in case."

Bella smiled at Nessie. "I know, sweetie. Your dad and I got this. You just worry about Seth and Shelby today." She turned her chocolate eyes to me. "And you," she said sternly, "take care of my daughter. Don't let her get too stressed. Not with my granddaughter so close to being here."

Handing the bag over to Edward, I rolled my eyes. "Yes, mother." I sobered up. "But really, I'll keep her as stress free as possible." Looking to Edward, I asked, "What do you know about witches?"

Edward's eyes flicked up to mine. I briefly ran down the facts in my head.

He shrugged. "Nothing, really. I've heard rumors, of course. But nothing solid. Cricket thinks she's the real deal?"

"She knows, Dad," Nessie said. "She even lived with the girl."

"What rumors?" I asked him.

Against his chest, Will adjusted, waking up just enough to move his body around before sinking back down into sleep. Frowning, I looked at my watch. Well, hell, it _was _still early. We'd been up for a while and it was only nine-thirty in the morning. No wonder he was still out. Definitely my child.

Edward waited for him to settle down before explaining. "During my research on the Children of the Moon, a recurring theme was that some packs welcomed witches for their healing or fighting abilities."

Nessie nodded. "They help each other. Cricket said Mara lives close to a pack. Mara is a healer." She looked down at her phone, which had started chiming. "That's Shelby." It was a short call, and when she hung up, she looked at us. "Cricket just called her. They're almost here."

Bella bounced Brayden on her hip. "Well, then we better get going, hadn't we?" she asked him.

Ness and I walked with them out the door, locking up behind us. Ness kissed Will's head before Edward started buckling him into the car seat, Bella doing the same with Brayden.

While we started walking toward the lake and Seth's place on the other side of it, I called out, "He didn't eat this morning with us, so he'll be ravenous when he wakes up."

Bella nodded. "Okay, thanks."

Ten minutes later, they were gone and we were walking up the steps to Seth's front door. Ness had barely knocked before the door flew wide. Shelby was standing there, looking relieved when she saw that it was us.

"Thought you guys would never get here."

"Sorry," I said, as she hugged first Ness, then me. "Had to eat breakfast and get the kid together."

Stepping back through the door, Seth appeared behind her. "Right, well, come on in. Sorry for the mess."

Ness gave her a dry look as she walked in. "Excuse me? You do realize who you're talking to, right?"

Before the door could even close behind us, the sound of tires on dirt echoed closely through the woods. All four of us shared a look.

Shelby breathed in deep. "Oh yeah. Cricket told me to tell everyone not to talk."

"What?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Apparently Mara doesn't want us to say anything at first. She just wants to wander around the house. 'Soak up energy' or something like that."

Shaking my head, I went to join Seth on the couch. "No offense, man, but if I go back to sleep, leave me like that until it's over."

He chuckled. "None taken."

Shelby left the door open, but both women stepped back so as not to crowd the entrance. And then they both gasped before sharing a look. A moment later, a young woman, probably in her early twenties was standing there.

At first, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. She looked positively ordinary with brown hair and dark eyes. Peachy skin that was flushed from the cold. But then Cricket stepped up beside her, and I remembered what Ness had said.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at her. At first, nothing. But slowly, as if a ghost were superimposed over her image, her features changed. All the dark colors turned to purple and white. Even the clothes physically changed from jeans and a long sleeve tee to a long cream-colored dress with a sweeping cloak the shade of the dark purple of twilight. The tennis shoes had changed into white slippers. Her skin lost the flush. Instead of draining to white, it was more like someone had gone onto a computer and just changed her skin tone with a click to pure paper white with a royal purple sheen. Even her hair white hair had dark purple streaks that I'd bet were natural. Her eyebrows were only a couple shades darker than the snow white of her hair which kept them from blending in with her skin.

The only color to her besides the cloak was her lips and pupils, both royal purple, as well as a ring of dark grey around her iris, separating it from the rest of her eye. The iris itself was the white of fresh snow. She looked blind.

Seth's jaw dropped as he clearly saw what I was seeing. The image she had cloaked herself with, that of an ordinary girl, was now the ghost, floating around her ethereal beauty like a gorgeous woman wearing rags.

"Holy shit," I whispered.

**SethPOV**

While Jacob cussed next to me, I just stared open-mouthed at the girl. Shelby and I shared a look. The girl, Mara, was all purple and white. Behind her, Crickets blue streaks and lavender eyes were normal compared to all that.

As instructed, none of us said a word as she swept into the room. The glide was smooth and swift as if her feet weren't touching the floor. Those white eyes glanced over the house. Cricket came in and shut the door while Mara traipsed through my house, skimming her fingers over the counters and table, touching things here and there as she passed. Nessie had come to stand beside her husband, one of her hands on his shoulder, fingers in his hair at the base of his neck. The other hand was rubbing her belly.

Shelby came to me, sitting on my thigh, her arm wrapped around my shoulders. My fingers played over her thighs and hips while Mara made her way around the house, both upstairs and downstairs. Silence enveloped the house. The only sounds that my ears could pick up were the heartbeats and the swishing of Mara's skirts.

After about a half hour of all of us staring at each other in silence before Mara came to stand in front of us at the fireplace. She was holding one of Brayden's favorite stuffed animals, absently stroking its fur while her eyes stayed unfocused.

"Your daughter will arrive healthy," she said, her first words breathy and deep. Also unexpected.

We all looked to Nessie.

She looked taken aback. "Um, that's what my grandfather said, that she's healthy."

There was no change in Mara as she said, "I wasn't speaking to you."

All of us startled, each staring at each other. Cricket raised her hands, palms out. "It ain't me. Trey and I are so _not_ ready for the kidlets."

In my lap, Shelby put her hand to her stomach. "Me?"

Mara turned those alien white eyes toward me and my mate. "She will arrive much like your son did, developing fast." She looked toward Nessie. "Like your Julene."

I shook my head. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying that we're pregnant? Right now?"

As if life seeped back into her, Mara stepped forward, a gentle smile on her purple lips. Her pale, slender hands reached out to Shelby. "Would you mind if I…?"

Shelby's eyebrows went up. "Touched me?" She shrugged. "I suppose."

Mara placed her fingers to Shelby's temples. She closed her eyes. "In answer to your question, yes. You are pregnant now."

"How do I not know this?" she said in wonder, her hands rubbing her flat stomach.

"Only a week or so along, sweetie. I only know because I've been trained to sense pregnancy almost to the point of conception in the wolves that I live near. The survival of their offspring depend entirely upon the immediate knowledge of the fetus, as I'm sure you know since you are a moon child."

I knew she was thinking of what Caden had told us about the difficulties of pregnancy and the shift with females of the Children.

Shelby nodded. "Yes, I'm aware."

As if that were that, Mara's white eyes moved to study me. "The mate and father. You are Seth," she said factually. She had picked up my son's toy once more, absently playing her fingers over it.

"Yeah. That's me." I was still in shock over this woman, and the fact that Shelby and I were pregnant again, this time with a girl. It did not escape me how similar my family was to Jacob's. First sons, second daughters. It was a lot to take in so I just concentrated on the fixing me part.

Which may have been the wrong choice.

Those pale eyes narrowed, staring at me, as if she were trying to dig under my skin. Goosebumps traveled over my skin as I felt the look like a touch, a physical push into my being. Pressure started to build around me. It was almost like stepping outside with a thunder storm. The scent of lightning filling the quiet space while your ears popped with the pressure. My skin became too tight for my bones. Unable to release my eyes from hers, as if she were a snake charmer, I struggled to keep from doubling over, small noises being ripped from my throat while my body fought whatever she was doing.

Distantly, I heard Shelby say my name in a panic before turning to Mara, demanding that she stop whatever she was doing to me.

The pressure inside my body became so bad that it punched the air out of my lungs and I actually did double over, forehead in Shelby's lap. There, it came to mind what it felt like she was doing. Poking a finger into a bubble or balloon, stretching it, trying to put a hole through it. Now that I could sense what it was, the sensation moved around. Over my heart. Between my eyes. My abdomen.

Until her eyes narrowed even more. A moment later, it felt like I'd hugged a cactus before throwing it on the ground and rolling around on top of it. A million little prickles and sharp stabs stung all over my body.

Vaguely I was aware that I'd pushed Shelby out of my lap, my head on my own legs. Both Jacob and Shelby were yelling now, but Mara wasn't letting up. Those needles just kept pushing and pushing at some invisible, elastic barrier that wouldn't break under her power. At least, not until the black started to eat my vision.

"That's enough," Jacob ordered in a cold voice. "Back off or I will physically throw you out of this house."

"Just a moment," Mara's cool, distant voice said to Jacob. Even in the state I was in, I was amazed at her continued calm with two hostile werewolves coming at her from both sides. "Just one more gentle push."

A sigh moved through the room just before I felt that nudge of the invisible needles through that invisible barrier. Another bought of intense pressure…and then a sonic pop sounded in my head. Another sigh, this one of relief, as if the house were glad to be rid of that awful pressure, swept through the room.

Blinking into the sudden silence and lack of pain, I sat up. Shelby rushed over to me, kneeling at my feet, her hands warm on my face. Her green eyes were full of worry for me and anger at Mara.

Swallowing hard, I managed, "I'm fine." I looked up at Mara who had moved closer. "What was that? What did you do?"

Her smile was small but smug. "Mr. Clearwater, you should learn to let down your shields. We wouldn't have had to go through all of that."

Blinking up at her, I tried to process what she was saying. "What?"

"Your mental shields. They're very strong. But then again, they have to be with the shape of your aura. It's very weak. And full of holes." Her eyes looked around the room. "And the energies here. Very unbalanced."

"What are you talking about?" Shelby demanded through clenched teeth.

Mara kneeled beside her at my feet, her skirts flowering out around her. "Every place has to have a balance of positive and negative energies. This house is full of negative, barely any positive. And the underlying current is coming from you. I am inclined to stick to my original conclusion. When you were resurrected, your spirit brought with it a dark energy. That is what your mind is trying to fight off. Those are the nightmares you're having. Though the energy has left your person, it floats in this house, attacking you. With the holes in your aura, you are vulnerable to its attacks."

All I could do was blink at her. Everyone else was silent, too. "But what about those shields you were just talking about that you had to poke through?"

"Those are mental shields, meant to protect you from mental magicks. However, this entity is not of the mind. It's of energy, which is why it's getting through the holes in your aura. An aura is not just a blanket of color surrounding you. It is an energy that protects you. And yours is severely damaged."

Shelby moved to look at her. "So what is this? A demon? Poltergeist?"

Mara gave her a dry look. "All of that is Christian nonsense." Looking back to me, she continued. "These energies do not have corporeal forms. They do not belong in Hell nor any other place belonging to other faiths. It is merely negative energy, like Karma. Karma can either be positive or negative."

"How did I manage to rack up that much bad juju?"

She laughed. It was a high tinkling sound, like bells. "I did not say it was your Karma. The violent nature of your death attracted the energy and it followed your…essence back into this realm of the living."

"Realm?" Nessie squeaked, her hands protectively around her stomach.

Mara gave a soft smile. "Yes, realm. There are many that a person's essence must travel before reaching their version of paradise, whatever faith in which one believes."

Visibly, Shelby took steps to calm down. "Okay, so what do we do now?"

Pale gray eyebrows pulled down low in a thoughtful frown. "Well, today I can work a patch up job. It will keep Seth safe for a couple of days so that I can get a spell written." She looked up to me. "But the healing must also come from you. I will work with you to help you heal the holes you have in your aura. It will take some time, and you will get frustrated, but it can be done. Also," her gaze swung back to Shelby, "I will need to place a protective shield around you and the unborn child. As well as your son."

To my complete surprise, Jacob stepped forward. "Wait just a damn minute. Now, I'm willing to let you be here and make these – these assumptions, but you want to actually work magick here?"

He had moved up beside her, towering over her slight form.

That was a mistake.

Her expression closed down to cold indifference before turning that white gaze to him. As if he could feel the iciness there, he shivered, his skin raising in goosebumps.

The way she tilted her head at Jacob reminded Seth of a hawk who was watching dinner walk by. "Mr. Black, I am not here for you. I do not need your permission. I need Seth's and Shelby's."

Anger flushing his cheeks, Jacob stepped even closer to her. "I did not grant you permission to even be on my lands. My wife did that _without my permission._"

"That may be true, but surely you've heard the saying about husbands and wives, alpha males and alpha females."

Jacob just blinked at her, jaw clenched.

"The male, Mr. Black, may be the head of the household, but the female is the neck. And she is capable of turning that head in any direction she wishes, with or without knowledge of doing so." Now she turned her body toward him, and stepped so close that her chest nearly brushed his. Both of them were breathing heavily with anger. "As I am first and foremost a healer, I am not prone to violent actions, but I have absolutely no quarrel with responding to a threat. You are not trained in magick, so I would suggest that you…step…off."

And right there, in the middle of my living room, dark purple, white, and black sparks like electricity ignited between her fingers, crackling like fire. The glow from those sparks lit up like strobe lights dancing in the room and started to crawl over her hands and up her wrists, wrapping around like bracelets. Her eyes started to glow, the white of her irises luminescent, not really throwing off light, but growing brighter. The black of her pupils was slowly disappearing.

Instantly, Cricket was standing beside Jacob, pulling him back. "Don't engage her, Jacob. She can do serious damage." Once she managed to lead him back toward Nessie, she moved back to her friend. Gently placing her hands on Mara's face, she forced the witch to look at her. "Mara, sweetie. I know he's a pain in the ass, but you have to calm down. Jacob is right. It was Nessie who gave permission, but you know she's not a wolf."

After a few tense heartbeats, Mara looked to Cricket who was making a show of deep calming breaths. Mara didn't join in on the dramatic breathing, but she did calm down. The sparks died down, leaving a faint glow around her hands like gloves. Her eyes slowly died back down to just white with the pupils making a reappearance.

She looked up to Jacob when Cricket backed up, sure that her friend was calm once more. "I mean no harm to you or your pack. Cricket called me, saying that I was needed. Seth gave me his permission to see what I could do for him. Here I am. Now either you can get over the fact that I'm already here and let me do what I came here for or kick me out of your territory to watch your second in command lose his mind. Because, make no mistake, that dark energy that you're so skeptical of _will_ drive him mad. The only reason it hasn't is because his mental shields are so strong; his will to survive stronger. But the choice is yours, _alpha_." She said the title with venom.

Jacob's eyes were filled with a burning anger. Lips pressed in a tight line, he abruptly stalked past her, intentionally avoiding touching her and slammed the door on his way out. Nessie gave me a look that said she was sorry but was going to follow him.

As she passed, she stopped in front of Mara. "Thank you. Please help him." Her eyes met mine and they were glassy. "He's like a brother to me."

Finally, Mara actually looked at her as if she were seeing her and smiled. "I will do what I can." She turned to Shelby. "Perhaps you should go with the Blacks. I will need to ask Seth some sensitive questions. As I recall, Cricket said that you are seeking private therapy." That last was said with a quirked eyebrow to me.

I nodded. "Yeah, with Carlisle." My eyes met Shelby's. "I think Mara's right. Whatever is wrong with me, it's…deep. You should go with Nessie. Especially now that we know you're pregnant with our daughter. I want you safe and there's no telling what could happen."

"He's right. There is every chance that this dark energy has grown. If it has, it won't like an introduction of positive energy into the house. A baby is wonderful news and adds its own energy, but right now, I need more of a feel for what's here now. Seth and I have our own ways of combating this. You do not."

The women all shared looks before Shelby walked over to me, shoulders straight, and kissed me. Fiercely.

"For our babies," she whispered against my mouth.

I nodded. "Our babies. And you." Swallowing hard, I watched the three of them leave the house with a final click of the door. Surprisingly, Cricket had gone without a fight. After a few minutes of silence, I didn't look at her when I said, "You lied to them. Not sure if they picked up on it, but I did."

Her look was sharp, but I didn't flinch.

"A growing energy? It won't _like_ the positive energy? Sounds like it can think for itself, which means that it's growing into something else. I've read books and watched tv. The question is," I said, and finally looked at her, "_what_ is it growing into?"

At first, she was shocked, but then she gathered her pride and strength, straightened her shoulders, and sat down next to me. Before speaking, she rearranged her skirts. "Very perceptive. It is not a demon of the Christian faith. More a poltergeist. The negative energy latched onto you probably because it arose from a dark event much like the circumstances of your death. And now, without your aura to protect you, it's…syphoning from you. Taking everything good in your heart, your soul, and feeding off of it."

"So ghosts do exist."

"I didn't say ghost. A ghost is a completely different entity entirely."

Exasperated, I threw my hands in the air. "Whatever. Just tell me you can help me."

Her delicate hands moved over her skirt. "I never presumed to tell you otherwise. And your family."

At the mention of family, a nasty thought wormed its way into my mind. "Oh god," I whispered. "My daughter. Is this going to affect her? You know, since we…got pregnant with her while I'm still…crazy?" The thought that I was going to have another child seemed to be a distant realization. I knew I should be happy, but all I could think about was that I was a danger to her and my son. And Shelby.

A light touch on my hand made me jump before I looked down to find one of her hands resting on mine. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but couldn't quite manage it. "You are not crazy. You are fighting. It is the weariness of battle that plagues you, not insanity, though it may feel the same. And no. I didn't lie when I told you and your mate that your daughter will be healthy. She and Nessie's daughter will be the best of friends."

Deciding to not focus on fatherhood, I said, "So what's the plan? What do we do now that the house is empty? I assume you thought of something."

She smiled, a mere twitch of lips. "Yes. On the flight here, I came up with several possibilities and created several spells. The first one is to patch up your aura. That I have the supplies for, as well as setting a foundation to the house."

In my confusion, I just blinked at her. "Foundation? You do realize that I have no idea what you're talking about, right?"

Sighing patiently, she said, "Foundation. Right now, think of this house in space, everything floating about, nothing to ground anything. The walls and floors need a coating of positive shine, if you will. Nothing overtly dramatic. If too much light energy is brought in, the dark energy could fully manifest into that of a poltergeist." She sighed again. "I wish I had a better word. I hate that one. But alas, I am struck with a sense of ignorance about such things. They don't make supernatural thesauruses, unfortunately."

Reaching up, I patted her hand where it still rested over mine. "I think I understand enough."

"Good. Let's get started."

Moments later we were bustling around. She had removed candles and papers from a bag that I hadn't realized had been brought in and set them about the house. The papers were spread out over the table.

Rubbing her hands delicately together, she said, "Alright. This is largely your part though my spell will help."

Now, at the thought of magick being used on me, nervousness pulsed through me. I didn't know what to expect. However, it was better that I go through this before she does her thing on my mate, son, and unborn daughter. Shaking out my shoulders, I turned to her. "Okay, so what do I do?"

"You need to use your wolf to see that auras. When you do, you should see the coating of energies in the house as well."

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I tugged down into my consciousness to grab the wolf, gently prodding him awake. He looked up blearily. I hadn't been phasing enough. He should have been more alert. I let him see the thoughts in my head. He stretched in that mental forest and padded up to the forefront of my mind. In silent communication, I told him what we needed and he obliged.

Opening my eyes quickly was a bad idea. The house was a swirling mass of colors, flashing around like the strobe of a night club. Dark red the color of blood. The deepest blues of twilight. Blacks and greys that were swirling and ominous.

Cool hands touched my wrists. "Seth. Concentrate. Slow down your breathing or you'll pass out."

Swimming through all the colors, all of those except white, I managed to realize that that was what I needed to find. Looking around wildly, my gaze swung over and around the room. The reds were around the front door and living room, oozing around. The blues in the kitchen and on the stairs leading to the higher floor. But the black, that inky, solid cloud hung on the doorway that led down to the bedroom like a grotesque curtain, undulating in the air as if waving me forward.

It wasn't until a hand gripped my wrist and Mara warned, "Seth," that I realized I'd taken a step toward that curtain.

Blinking as if I'd just come into consciousness from a black abyss, I looked around until I found those white eyes. They were calm and sure. Even though I didn't know the woman, I grasped onto that calm and it steadied me.

"Good. Now look at yourself."

She held up my arm. A dark green blur of moving _something_ coated my skin. It was translucent, kind of like mist clinging to me. Green, sickly mist. This wasn't what I remembered from the day Caden had trained us to see our auras. Mine had been a rich forest green. Not this black mold green. And just as Mara said, there were holes in it, patches where I could see the tan of my skin through it. The largest that I could see was over my heart.

"Your first lesson? Keep this handy tool on at all times. Every time you near the blackness, imagine your aura bright and shining. Ignore the darkness. Walk through it as if it were a curtain and nothing more. If you show it indifference, it will start to lose power. But not before it attacks you painfully. And that is where I come in with a spell that will protect you and bind the energy. Not long, mind you. But long enough to help you heal your aura a little."

"And then you'll protect my son and mate?"

She nodded. "The spell is a tad different for them than for you but yes."

"How different?"

"More protective. Less healing. And since this spell is half and half, it is a great deal more powerful. It will take a lot of energy on my part. I will be drained for a couple days, which will give me time to write up their spells. Each spell has to be calibrated to the person. Hopefully, your mate will let me near her and your son enough for me to get a feel of them, of their essences."

"I'll talk to her," I said, but I was distracted by something else she'd said. "You just said you'll be drained. Is this dangerous to you?"

She smiled and it was tinged with sadness. "Seth, magick is always dangerous to the user, more so than to the receiver. Spells, just like everything else, work from energy. The purer the intention, the stronger the spell and the power that goes into it."

Shaking my head, I rolled up my sleeves. "Alright. What do I do now?"

She grinned.

"Close your eyes."

**Shelby POV**

The clouds spit on us with little spatters of rain while I paced the packed dirt at the bottom of my porch steps. Pregnant! At this very moment, I was pregnant with our second child. A girl. And my mate was inside our house having God knew what done to him. We'd been out here for an hour. Only one sound had come from inside and that had been a dull _thump_ before everything had lapsed back into silence.

Even with my worry over Seth, I couldn't help but race my mind over the fact that we were pregnant, even if it was as early as Mara said. Thinking of Mara made me feel bad for snapping at her. She was here trying to help the father of my children. I'd have to apologize.

Jacob was sitting on the porch steps with a very pregnant Nessie on his lap. They both had a hand pressed to her stomach. And though Nessie's head was on Jacob's shoulder, I could feel their eyes on me. I stopped to look at them; to watch them watch me while Cricket moped around the edge of the woods. She was angry with herself for not being able to see that I was pregnant. But right now, I watched my best friend and her husband.

Nessie noticed and raised her head. "Shelbs, I'm sure-,"

I'd never find out what she was sure of because a moment later, the door flew open. My breath caught. There, in the doorway, stood the Seth I loved. Everything about him beamed the man that I had fallen in love with. His smile was real, not forced. Those broad shoulders were proud and straight. I hadn't realized that he'd been hunched in on himself until now. He looked…healthy. Over all of that, though, it was his eyes that got to me. They no longer looked glazed over and dull. Now, they were bright and alert, caressing my body in slow sweeping glides.

Bounding around Jacob and Nessie, he jumped all the porch stairs, strode over to me and, bending down, wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me up, swinging me around. Laughing, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Squeezing my waist, he said, "I love you. God, I love you so much. And I am so sorry for going away from you like I have."

With tears pricking my eyes, I stroked his strong cheekbones. "You're back," I whispered through a lump in my throat. "You're really here."

He nodded, grin softening. "I am. And I am going to work my ass off to make sure I stay." Tightening one arm around me, he put his free hand to my stomach. "A baby girl."

Sniffling through the tears, I managed to get out, "Piper."

"What?"

"You wanted me to pick out a girl's name if we managed to get pregnant with one since you picked out Brayden's name. I've always loved Piper."

He grinned. "Piper it is, then."

Because I needed his lips on mine, I crashed toward him. Our lips met viciously teeth, teeth scraping, tongues sliding and dueling. We devoured each other all the way until Jacob cleared his throat is such a way that let us know he hadn't done it because something was in his throat.

Breathlessly, we pulled apart. Seth gave a dark chuckle into the skin of my neck. Though we'd made love (obviously) over the months since he'd died and come back, not one thing he'd said or done had held that much heat, and I shivered in his arms, my spine dancing in my skin.

Only when Cricket gave a shocked gasp did I open my eyes and look up. Mara was in the doorway. Though she was pale-featured, she looked drained of color, pale and dull. Not quite shiny anymore. One hand was on the doorframe holding her up. Jacob, being closest to her, darted forward to catch her before she fell to her knees. He gently lowered her to the top step where she flattened her torso against her thighs, resting her head on her knees.

I slid down Seth's body when he let me go. Walking over to them, I sat on the step below her and to the side so she could see me. Her white eyes were nearly translucent.

"Thank you," I told her. "I don't know what you did or how, but thank you. And I'm sorry for how I spoke to you in there. I had no right when you rushed here. I know Cricket said that we shouldn't and can't offer to pay you back, but I want to tell you thank you, so much for bringing him back to me."

She smiled a little and it was tired. So tiring that she stopped after a moment. When she started to speak, she had to stop to clear her throat. "He…he did most of it on his own. With instruction, of course. I will work with him as I can. With some rest and tea for the rest of the day, I should be ready to come back tomorrow to work with him. And maybe you and your son."

Not sure if it was acceptable to touch her, I kept my hands to myself when I said, "I think I will appreciate anything you can do for us."

* * *

**So I am waiting for all the WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?s Yeah, um...ugh. Anyways, PLEASE review this chapter? I love you guys and I will try not to be gone so long again, but I won't make promises I can't keep. Love you! xoxoxoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes, I know you want to strangle me. No, I am not dead. I have been struggling so hard with this story. However, recently I received two horrible "reviews" from the same person on PIP that just put me down so hard. They were rude and nasty with no shame. There is a huge difference between constructive criticism and being rude, nasty. This person crossed the line into rude and really hurt me, made me not want to write anymore because I felt myself worthless. But then I thought about all the people that have stuck with me through ALL of these stories. I used the hurt to realize that yes, I can do better for my actual fans. I'm using it to fuel my passion, to be a better writer. That's what this site is for: to help build yourself. Don't worry, I sent this person a PM (with no response back) stating my feelings. This person, in their reviews, said the story was "boring and sucked a**" and that "all the chapters sounded the same". Well, I can tell you that the next pregnancy story _will _be different. And that the kids' stories will have a new atmosphere. And I am hoping that I will be back with regular updates. I just want to say THANK YOU to all those people who have reviewed with proper constructive criticism and helped me to progress, even if it is infinitesimal. You guys are why I write, why I strive to be better!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**Early June**

**RPOV**

Another contraction tightened along my back and around to my abdomen. This labor wasn't near as fast as my first time with Will. Jules was just messing with me. I'd been having these since early this morning. Jacob was back to "paid vacation" after Frank had called. Jacob had told him that he could still come in even though I was in the early stages of labor. Frank wouldn't hear of it and had threatened Jacob. That man's generosity seemed to be never ending.

"Ness?"

"I'm good," I gritted out.

Jacob was washing the dishes while I folded clothes and I saw him check his watch. The contractions were still a couple hours apart. We were getting closer, but not as fast as with Will. Speaking of, Will was walking around in the round walker someone had bought for him with the rattles all over it. I was thankful for it on most days, but today my son kept wanting to run those wheels over my toes while he tried to reach out and grip my flow-y, floor length skirt. For some reason, he'd been clingy to me lately and constantly wanted me to pick him up.

Now, he started getting fussy when I didn't pay attention to him. Folding the last of Jacob's shirts, I sighed and bent to pick him up. He instantly quieted.

"What is with him?" Jacob asked.

Positioning my son on my hip, I shook my head. "I think he knows his baby sister is on her way."

He dried his hands on a towel and leaned against the counter. "Speaking of which, do we have the bag ready? I didn't oversee that this time."

I nodded my head toward the hall closet. "It's in there. I've had it packed since she started growing fast, just in case."

He nodded. "Good idea." And then he came to me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "We'll leave Will down with Shelby and Seth. No doubt they'll be there the moment we tell them we went into labor."

"What is this 'we' you keep speaking of?" I asked playfully. "_I _am going to be going into labor. Already started." Pulling out a chair, I sat down with Will in my lap. "So how is Seth doing with Mara?"

"Really well according to Shelby and Carlisle. And Shelby is indeed pregnant. Carlisle suspects that she was barely at a week when Mara said something. He couldn't do any tests until now. Of course, they won't know if it really is a girl for another couple months. But Seth is back to his bouncy self. He and Brayden are always together now. I didn't realize how little time they spent together until I started seeing them everywhere."

We grinned at each other.

"That's really great to hear. I love that family so much. And I was so worried for Seth."

Sitting down across from me, he took my hand and played his thumb over my wedding band. "We all were. If not for what you did, he'd still be hurting." When he saw my surprised expression, he went on. "I'm not saying I take back what I said to you, but this time, you made the right decision. So thank you. For taking care of my brother."

I squeezed his fingers. "He's my brother, too, you know." He smiled at me. "So what's happening with Mara?"

He took in a deep breath and let it out heavily. "Cricket says that she might ask to stay with the pack. If not with us, then with Walker. She's more accustomed to the Children so that would be the best bet. From what I hear, Carlisle asked Caden if he'd like to talk to her. It's been a work in progress type of deal. He's not very fond of the witch community apparently. She's met with him a couple times."

Will played with the low neckline of my shirt, digging his hands down into my bra. Gripping his chubby wrists, I pulled them out while Jacob tried to hide a grin. Jerk.

"So Carlisle thinks that whatever is up with Caden could be more than just psychological?"

Jacob shrugged. "Maybe. Or it could be so psychological that it will take other means to break through it." Reaching out, he cupped my face. "If I lost you-," he had to clear his throat. "If I lost you or Will or Jules, I…I'd bury the feelings, bury the pain as deep as I could. Just thinking about living without you and the babies is excruciating. How he managed to do it, I have no idea."

I leaned into his touch, gripping our son in my lap. "Oh, Jacob. I feel the same way. Living without you, raising our children with them looking so much like you, would destroy me. But I would do it because I'm their mother and you would want me to. I'd never love again, that's for sure. And if I lost you and the children…I just don't know." My chest tightened painfully at the thought of coming home with my family slaughtered, their blood painting the walls.

Jacob, of course, could sense this. He scooted closer in his chair. "Shhh, it's okay, baby. I won't leave you. But I will protect our babies with my life. You have to know that. Our lives are always going to present new challenges, some life-threatening. That's part of being what we are. We can't escape that. I wish we could just leave and hide. I want that, more than anything. To raise our children outside of all this shit, but how would we explain what they are without explaining what all we've been through and our home? Forks will always be home for you, the rez for me. And I can't leave my people."

"I know that," I whispered. "That's why I haven't asked you to. I know that my family would uproot to follow, especially Mom and Dad. But Billy and your sisters are human. We only have a short time with them compared to how long I can live. I couldn't rip you away from them, not now that your family is knitting back together."

His callused thumb caressed my cheekbone. "And I appreciate that, Nessie. Really I do. I'll need you when…later. I won't be strong."

Between us, Will rubbed his hands over my belly and giggled. Teary-eyed, I laughed. "I think he's ready for her to be here."

"I think you're right," he said in a low voice.

My eyes met his. "Jacob, I will always be there for you. I will have strength for you when you lose yours."

"But right now you need me strong for you." He snaked his hand around Will to rest his palm over my stomach next to his son's.

I smiled down at them. "I want you behind me again."

"Of course. You don't even have to ask."

Chuckling, I rubbed my fingers over his wrist. "Hopefully I won't break anything this time."

Flipping over his hand, he gripped mine. "You know I don't care, Ness. It's the least I can do for what you're going to go through. I can handle a couple broken bones."

Before I could say anything else, my back tightened. Another contraction. It took some amount of control not to grip Will too hard. But I did squeeze Jake's hand.

He frowned. "Another one?" He checked his watch. "Ness, it hasn't even been an hour."

I rubbed my swollen belly. "She's coming faster. I can feel her move."

"Do you want to go to Carlisle now or wait a little bit? He said ten minutes is when the labor should really begin. We're at forty-five."

"Let's wait, but text him an update."

"At thirty we'll go down."

"Twenty."

"Ness-"

I gritted my teeth. "Twenty, Jake. I am not hanging out down there while people watch me like a hawk. You're bad enough. I can still clean up a little before we bring our daughter home."

"Rosalie cleaned up last time," he pointed out.

I gave him a dry look.

He held his hands up surrender. "Fine. Twenty. Unless Carlisle says otherwise. Nothing will overrule doctor's orders."

I sighed at the negotiation. "Fine."

While he pulled out his phone, I stood up with Will and went to get him some lunch. He wasn't fussy yet but I could hear his tummy rumble. He'd probably start fussing when it was almost done heating up.

Surprisingly he didn't, but still ate with fervor. His molars were coming in so he could chew more. Since Jules had started growing, so had Will. He'd gotten bigger and heavier over the last month, his face losing that pudginess to stretch out into discernable features. Carlisle had been right. He was trying to keep up with his sister's development. He was also getting more vocal and coordinated.

Jacob sat down at the table. "He said that this was good and he was readying the room. He also agreed with me about the whole thirty minute thing. _But_ he said that though twenty was pushing it, it was acceptable because we're so close to the house. Otherwise, we'd be on our way to the hospital so ha!"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Ha? That's your brilliant comeback?"

"Never said I was consistent," he said, popping a soft carrot into his mouth from Will's plate.

"Clearly," I muttered.

**ShelbyPOV**

Having Seth back was the best gift anyone had ever given me. We laid in bed, breathing hard. A fine sheen of sweat covered our bodies, pooling between us. I was on top of him, his hands moving languorously over my spine.

"That," he panted under me, "was fantastic. I know it was good before, but now that I'm back, I can actually _feel _it."

I laughed and his erection twitched inside of me. "That _was_ pretty awesome. Besides, Mara told us to build up the good juju, right? What better way than this? Making love has to be good."

"Amen. I could get used to sessions like that."

I felt his lips on my head as I slid off of him into the crook of his arm. The skin of his shoulder was warm when I pressed my lips to it. Over the past month, I hadn't realized how much weight he'd lost until he started gaining it back, as well as his muscle mass. Now, he was huge after working out with the boys. Reaching over, I gripped his other hand and put it to my still-flat belly. "Another baby, Seth. I can't even believe I'm saying that. I thought for sure that Brayden would be our only."

His fingers played over my lower stomach and lower, just brushing back and forth. "I thought you wanted another?"

"I do. At first, maybe not. But I don't want Brayden to be alone. I'm excited. However, like I told Ness, I have no idea what I'm going to do with a girl."

He squeezed me. "You're going to be great, Shelbs. Seriously."

"It's so weird how we've practically copied Nessie where she copied us the first time."

His chest rumbled with laughter. I closed my eyes, loving the sound of it. "Yeah, it is kind of creepy, but I think maybe that has something to do with you two being so close both emotionally and physically."

"What do you mean?"

His big body shifted under mine almost as if he were uncomfortable. "Well, it's kind of like when two women live in the same house, they tend to synchronize with, um, their monthly time."

Going up on my elbow, I quirked an eyebrow at him. "And where did you learn that?"

That grin was utter perfection in his face. "Living with my Mom and Leah. Especially after my dad died. They just ganged up on me once a month and I kind of figured it out." He shrugged and put his other hand behind his head. "Maybe it's the same thing with you and Ness and your pregnancies. You two are so close. You both have alpha mates and are looked to for guidance from the other females. And you're both strong-willed. I mean, you punched Jacob in the nose once, remember? Not even Morgan would dare to do that. She's all bark when it comes to lecturing him. But you're punch first, yell later. Nessie's the same way in certain situations."

"Hm," I mumbled, laying my head back on his shoulder. "That does make a certain amount of sense." I traced a design of nothing in particular on his chest. Gently, he took my wrist and kissed my palm. "I don't know if I want to tell everybody immediately that we're pregnant."

To my surprise, he nodded. "I agree."

"I just feel so bad for Emily and Sam as well as Leah and Caden. I know your sister really wants a baby."

"They will when they're both ready. Caden needs to learn that he's still worthy of having a family again, of being happy again."

I looked up at him. "Has he talked to you?"

He shook his head. "No. But I know that's how I would feel if I'd gone through what he had. I wouldn't feel like I deserved, like I deserved your trust in me. I wouldn't feel worthy of you. Or any kids."

Frowning, I bit my lip. "But he is worthy. After all he's done to protect us. And he's made Leah so happy."

"I know, baby. They'll work it out. Caden is stubborn but he's got nothing on Leah."

On the bedside table, Seth's phone vibrated. He reached for it and frowned when he read the text.

"What is it?"

"Jake. He says Nessie started have contractions early this morning. They were steady at two hours apart. Now they're at forty-five. He also says that they'll head down to the big house when they hit twenty."

A flood of excitement flushed through me. Another baby for the Blacks. I knew Jake was especially excited to meet his little girl.

"Wow. I can't believe it. It seems like she just got pregnant. We should get up and get ready. Bray is going to wake up from his nap soon and we need to pack for a stay down at the Cullen place. I am not leaving until I hold my niece."

I was just about to fling the sheets off me when a little sniffling cry came through the monitor.

"Speak of the devil," Seth muttered. After he pressed a kiss to my temple, he rolled out of bed and went for the closet. His newly built body made mine flush with lust. Sensing it, he chuckled as he stepped into some sweats. "I'll get him. You hop in the shower."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. He came back over to kiss me deeply, pressing me back into the bed. His hand roamed my body and gently caressed my core, teasing me before he backed off. Leaving me breathing hard on the bed, he raced up the stairs, laughing.

Gritting my teeth, I shook my head and rolled out of bed. I was so going to pay him back for that.

**TriciaPOV**

I read Jacob's text on Embry's phone twice before I squealed with excitement. He came walking in, rubbing his hair with a towel.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked.

Standing up on the couch, I held the phone out facing him. Once he read it, a big grin stretched his lips. "She's almost here. Man, I can't wait to see those two kids grow up."

"Me either. I'm so happy for them. I wish we could have had a shower for her, but Jules just grew too fast. And they have everything they could possibly need."

He pulled me against his chest and kissed me softly. "After she's born we can go to Port Angeles and find them something. Maybe something for Jake and Ness to enjoy. How does that sound?"

I smoothed my hands over his chest. "Perfect. Are you ready to go?"

He nodded. "I am if you are."

As I went to turn away, he gripped my hands to his chest. I turned back.

"Tricia, I…"

"Yeah?"

His fingers played over my wedding ring. "I want a baby."

"Me, too, angel." Since we'd gotten married, I'd been "devil" and he'd been "angel". An inside thing that only he and I understood.

Frowning, he shook his head. "No, what I mean to say is that I want to start trying. Now. As soon as possible."

It was my turn to frown when I turned all the way back to him. "Embry, I thought we've been trying? What else can we do? As Jake would say, we've been thumping like rabbits. Morning and night."

His arms wound around me, pulling my body against his. "Not every night; not every morning. I don't know. Maybe I could go deeper or something."

Chuckling, I stroked his neck and chest. "Angel, our love-making is perfect. You don't need to change anything. It's just not our time. Maybe I could buy one of those ovulation tests or something. But I assure you that you are perfect." Going up on my toes on the sinking cushion, I kissed his lips. "We'll have a baby. With everyone else getting pregnant and having babies, I understand that you want a family, too. But sometimes, things just take time. Unless you aren't happy with it just being us."

A growl something fierce ripped out of him. His hands gripped me hard, so hard that my eyes unfocused and my breathing became uneven. I was a fiend for his rough handling.

Leaning in to my ear, he growled, "Don't you ever think I'm not happy with you. I fucking adore you and worship the ground you walk on. You are everything to me, Tricia Call." His hands tightened. "Do you understand that?"

I nodded, unable to make my mouth work.

But that wasn't enough for him. He shook me a little, pulling me more against his hard body. "No, you answer me."

It took me a few tries just to be able to swallow and then speak before I said, "I understand," in a strained voice.

Immediately, his hold loosened but he held me when my knees gave out, forcing me to collapse against him. Gently, he stroked my hair and kissed my temple until I calmed down enough to function. Every time he got a little rough with me, I was ready to strip down and let him do whatever he wanted to my body. Some days, he'd go slowly. Other days, "slow" wasn't in his vocabulary.

When I pulled back, he smoothed his hands over my face before kissing me, oh so softly. "I love you, Tricia. I want kids, yes. But if we never have any, I'd survive because I have you. You're my everything."

"I love you, too."

A moment later, the doorbell rang. A few times in quick succession.

Embry and I smiled at each other. "Haleigh," we said together.

He let me sink down onto the couch before going to answer the door.

"Uncle Embry!" she yelled happily.

He grunted, no doubt picking her up. "Hey, chipmunk! You're getting huge! What are they feeding you?"

I could practically hear her face scrunch up when she said, "Vegetables."

"Ewww!" Embry said, indulging her.

"Dude," came the bass tone of Walker's voice, "don't encourage her. She likes her veggies."

"Nuh-uh," Haleigh argued.

Grinning, I managed to get my still-shaking legs underneath me and walk to the foyer. Over Embry's broad shoulder, Haleigh beamed at me. "Aunt Tricia!"

I returned her smile. "Hey, sweetie."

Embry set her on her feet and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my waist, burying her face in my stomach. "Are you going to Grandma and Grandpa's with us?"

"Absolutely. They're going to be so excited to see you."

She beamed at me. "I'm gonna read to Grandma. Daddy says she'll like it."

I shared a grin with Walker. "She will love it."

"Mommy said Aunt Nessie is going to have a baby soon."

"I know; I heard," I said stroking her hair down her back. "Are you excited?"

She nodded vigorously against my stomach. "Uh-huh."

"Well," Walker said, "we should get going. You know how Mom is about setting the table on time."

Embry helped me into my jacket before we followed them out the door. Haleigh pulled me and Embry out to the truck with her hands in ours. My mother had invited us up for a family dinner. She was trying to organize a weekly family meal. So far, none of us could get a regular schedule worked out, but today happened to be a good day. Embry and Walker had also agreed to try to have "the talk" with my parents with Jacob's approval. They needed to know. It was going to be interesting to see the reaction.

We all crammed into the truck. Haleigh sat between me and Embry in the back seat, her hands still clasped in ours, a happy smile on her face. She'd grown some over the past few months. Her chocolate hair was longer than ever, curling down to her waist. More personality and knowledge filled her sapphire eyes. She was more aware, her gaze sharp. Embry had been working with her in her endeavor to learn to read. She was quickly surpassing her age range, moving on to more challenging novels. Walker and Christa both wanted to have her IQ tested once she was more comfortable using context clues to try to guess what a word meant rather than carrying a dictionary everywhere. Not that a dictionary was bad. She just carried it everywhere with her and was always referring to it. They wanted her to learn to try to figure out what a word meant before going for the dictionary.

She was also very attached to the younger children. A fierce protectiveness would settle in her shoulders when she was at the playdates that I had started frequenting so as to mingle and have a life. Brayden was walking and talking at nearly two years old. I'd noticed that Haleigh stayed close to him the most while Henry watched over Leila. Will mainly stayed around Nessie, one hand on her growing belly. It was so hard to believe that she and Jacob were getting ready to welcome their second baby into the world in a matter of hours. We'd be checking on them on our way back from Mom and Dad's.

"So, Christa," I said, breaking the silence, "how's the home schooling stuff going?"

Turning around in the seat, she rolled her eyes. "I'm getting there, I suppose. I mean, I don't necessarily want her graded or anything. We just need to get her to learn the basics, so basic books are what we're after. So far, I'm working with her on English and grammar, a little literature. I have some old high school books that were never returned because of my parents. She's well past her grade level in reading and comprehension." Christa's voice held a note of pride. Haleigh grinned up at her mother.

Walker reached over to stroke his wife's cheek. "We are very proud of her," he said, as if reading my mind. She leaned into the touch.

"Well, maybe you could talk to the Cullens. I know that they schooled Nessie; and I know that Nessie and Jake want their kids home schooled. That may change as they get older. Nessie said that she wants her kids to have at least a couple years in a school if at all possible."

She nodded thoughtfully, playing with Walker's fingers between her hands. "I may just do that. I wanted to be the one to teach her, but I suppose Walker and I could work with her at home." She looked over at her husband with a smile. "We can talk about it when we get home."

He returned her grin with one of his own.

Moments later, we pulled into the driveway. Mom and Dad met us as we opened the doors. Dad swung a giggling Haleigh through the air while Mom hugged each one of us.

After Dad told Haleigh to go wash up inside, he shook first Walker's hand then Embry's. "How you boys doin'?"

"We're good, Dad. Thanks."

"Embry? You taking care of my baby girl?"

I rolled my eyes as Embry chuckled. "She's taking care of me. I do what I can when she lets me."

Dad nodded in understanding. "Takes after her mother."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I'm standing right here, Dad."

Chuckling, he pulled me into a hug. "I know, princess. I never said it was a bad thing that you're like your mother. Just stating a fact."

Hugging him back, I held on tight. Despite his differences with Embry and his dislike of our fast relationship and marriage, I loved him. He was really trying to get along with his son-in-law as well as Christa, his daughter-in-law. "I love you, Daddy," I whispered.

I felt his lips in my hair. "Love you, too." After another brief squeeze, he let me out of the hug but kept an arm around my shoulders. "Come on. Let's go inside before the sky dumps on us."

We all headed in and the boys sat around the table. Christa and I helped Mom bring the food to the table. Once everything was out, I sat next to Embry and Christa. Dad started up a conversation with Walker and Embry about the shop. Mom had made a tenderloin with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Walker glared at Embry every time he tried to get Haleigh to eat her veggies. She'd grin up at Embry who smiled back.

"So, Tricia, what have you been up to?" Mom asked.

After a sip of water, I said, "Mostly, I've been getting the house fixed up. Now that we have some extra income, we can have the more expensive things checked and fixed."

"Like what?" Dad asked.

"Well, I found a leak in the roof in the extra bedroom while I was redecorating it. Found out the roof was old as dirt, so we had insurance come out and take a look. Needed to be replaced. But I've also had an estimate for a patio. One that could be converted to indoor. It would be nice to be able to read outside on rare sunny days." I lifted my shoulder. "Besides, Embry and I are planning for kids. Why not get things done now before we actually have them?"

Mom grinned. "More grandbabies? Oh, I can't wait!" She hooked her gaze on Embry. "You better give those babies that pretty russet skin."

Embry coughed around a piece of meat and adjusted in his seat. "I'll, uh, I'll see what I can do."

Eyes sparkling, Mom turned back to me. "You've been getting out of the house, haven't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Mom. I've been babysitting for Nessie and Christa when they have things to do."

In surprise, Mom and Dad both looked at Christa. "Do you have a job now?" Dad asked politely.

Uh-oh. I'd slipped up. I watched Haleigh when both Walker and Christa were on patrol or were busy at his pack's village of cabins. Now they thought that she had a job other than just errands. Then again, this was the opening to bring up "the talk".

The four of us shared a glance. Haleigh had been told months ago not to mention any of the werewolves. No talk of packs either.

Dad apparently caught the glance. "What? What's going on?"

Clearing his throat, Walker leaned forward, elbows on the table. His eyes studied the table as if the script of words that would make this easier were written there. He and Embry shared a loaded look. My husband shrugged with his eyebrows. Walker's eyes moved to me. I knew the look. It was one we had shared many times. He was asking me for help if he faltered. It was how we'd gotten away with things when we were in high school.

I nodded.

"Somebody better start talking," Dad said. "I recognize that look, you two." Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Walker leaned forward again and took a deep breath. "Dad, Mom, there's something that…well, the four of us…need to say. First let me ask, do you remember when Tricia and I first brought Christa and Embry home?"

Our parents glanced at each other, clearly remembering the arguments, before nodding in unison.

My brother nodded, his auburn hair falling into his eyes. "The arguments, yeah. Specifically when Embry and Christa both told you that they're different."

Dad leaned forward to mirror Walker. "Son, quit beating the weeds around the bush to death. Just tell us."

"Dad," I interjected, "trust me. You want this slowly."

My father looked to my husband first, then to Christa. "What's going on? I'll get a better answer from the two of you quicker than my two kids."

Embry and Christa shared a look. Christa leaned forward when Walker leaned back. He put an arm across the back of her chair. "Mr. Johnson-,"

"David. You're my daughter-in-law now."

Christa nodded once to him. "David." Then she lifted her eyes, making complete contact with him. "Embry and I are hereditary werewolves."

The statement hung in the air as the four of us watched my parents. Under the table, Embry took my hand, squeezing my fingers. Air seemed hard to come by as Mom and Dad stared at us as if they were expecting us to yell out, "April fools!" But when we didn't, Mom's eyes watered, and Dad sat back heavily in his chair.

Crossing his arms he shook his head with a little nervous chuckle. "Very funny. You're not serious, right?"

Christa continued. "Very. Haleigh is a different type of werewolf. One that isn't hereditary. They're known as the Children of the Moon. Their-,"

"Stop." Dad's teeth were gritted tight, eyes sparkling with anger. "Just stop talking. This is ridiculous."

Christa's expression hardened when she finished her speech. "Their condition is an infection known as lycanthropy. They can either be born into it, born with the infection, or they can be infected by a scratch or bite…like Walker."

Mom's hand went to her mouth in horror. Dad's eyes snapped to my brother. Walker met their eyes steadily, his fingers playing in his mate's hair.

It was Mom who broke the charged silence. She aimed her question at me. "And you believe all this?" she asked in disbelief.

Gripping Embry's hand, I lifted my chin. "Of course I do. It's hard not to believe something I've seen with my own eyes."

My parents just stared at me before Dad slowly stood up. He looked calm, but that was a façade. Anger bubbled up in his eyes as he stalked toward me. Embry tensed when Dad reached for my arm. I stared in confusion when he went to push my sleeve up my arm. It was only after he held it out and turned it under the dining room light, eyes searching, that I realized what he was looking _for_.

Getting to my feet and ripping my arm out of his grip, I glared at him and pulled my sleeve down. "I am _not_ on drugs, Dad! And neither is Walker."

Knowing he wouldn't get anything from me or my brother, he turned to Embry and Christa who were starting to stand up. Christa put her hands on Haleigh's shoulders to pull the girl behind her. She looked terrified as Dad seethed with anger toward Walker, Christa, and Embry.

"What did you two do to my children?" he demanded through clenched teeth. "What did you give them to accept this lunacy? How long has this been going on? Was it to keep them lucid enough to talk them into marrying the two of you?"

Walker stepped in front of his wife and daughter. "That's enough, Dad," he snapped in a warning.

"Listen to yourselves!" Dad yelled. "This is insane! And to bring a child," he motioned to Haleigh, "into this craziness! What is wrong with you?"

Walker's eyes flashed an inhuman green. If Dad saw it, he didn't react. "Christa, maybe you should take Haleigh outside." When the girl protested, his expression softened before he knelt down in front of her. After a moment of whispering, she nodded and went with Christa. Walker stood and waited for the door to close before lashing out at Dad. "You think I'm crazy now? Or you think Christa _drugged _me? Nice, Dad. There just has to be some logical puzzle piece to explain away the fact _that I disappeared_! I mean, where did you think I was? How do you think Luke died? He was attacked by a massive animal. It was a werewolf, just like me. But unlike him, I survived my attack."

Dad went to him, putting his hands on Walker's shoulders. "Are you listening to yourself? You need help, son!"

Walker shoved him away. Embry pushed me behind him, keeping me away from the aggression. Mom had moved to the corner of the room across the table. Tears stained and tracked her face. Cheeks were splotchy and red. Bottom lip was trembling. Her eyes were distant, unfocused on the carpet like she was trying to figure out how her life had fallen apart in the blink of an eye.

Walker and Dad faced off. "I'm not the one who needs help, Dad. You do. You just can't think outside the box. If it doesn't fit in your perfect little world, then it doesn't exist. Well, that's perfectly fine. That means that I don't need to be here, because I don't fit in your world anymore. Better yet, you don't fit in mine. And if you ever talk to my wife like that again, especially in front of our daughter, I won't hesitate to put you on your ass. You're the one who taught me how to treat a woman. I think you need a crash course in your own lessons."

As he'd spoken, his eyes had steadily turned from mahogany brown to piercing green. This time, Dad noticed. He backed up, nearly smacking into Embry's chest. When Embry growled, he spun to stare up into my husband's face.

Dad paled. "My God," he whispered looking back and forth from Walker to Embry.

Moving around, I saw what had put that look of fear in his eyes. Though Embry's eyes didn't change like Walker's, there was still a way for him to shift. A way that I'd only ever seen the Children of the Moon achieve. Embry's face had slightly elongated, his teeth sharpened and glistened in his mouth. This level of control in his type of wolf must be unlocked with the new level of pissed off that he was currently sporting. A shot of fear raced down my spine. I wasn't scared of Embry. He'd never hurt me physically. But he had no emotional attachments to my dad. In fact, he was looking for an opening to fight.

Reaching out, I gripped his sleeve. "Embry-,"

"Get out."

Dad's voice had me turning to stare at him. "What?"

His eyes were all for Embry. "Get out of my house. And don't you dare come back."

Embry's grin was terrifying in his new facial structure. "With pleasure," he growled. Gripping my hand, he started for the door.

Dad moved out of his way. But when I passed, he grabbed for my free hand, pulling me up short, my hand slipping out of Embry's.

"What the-,"

"Please, Tricia, don't go with him."

I glared at him. "Let go of me."

Desperation crept into his expression. "Baby, please. Just stay here. I can protect you."

Pulling on my hand, I said between clenched teeth, "No, Dad. I'm safe with my husband. And I am leaving with him. Now, let go."

His hold tightened, my muscles spasming under that grip.

I gasped. "Ow! Dad, you're hurting me."

"Tricia-,"

He didn't finish.

A snarl ripped through the room as Embry's hand clamped down on my dad's wrist. Vicious rage twisted his face. Dad winced, making a pained noise in his throat. "Let her go, or I will break every bone in your hand. Slowly."

Mom let out a little scream and sank to the floor in her corner, putting her hands over her ears. "David, just let her go! Please!"

After a moment of him and Embry glaring at each other, Dad finally let go. He'd gripped my wrist so tightly that I knew I'd have a bruise. Cradling my hand against my chest, I shoved at Embry with my shoulder, glaring at my father. "Come on. Let's go home. I don't fit in their world anymore either."

With one last squeeze that tightened the skin around my dad's eyes, Embry released him and put his arm around my shoulders. Dad likewise rubbed his wrist.

Walker glared at our father as we passed him. "Don't worry, David. We won't come back." And then he looked at Mom, sadness creeping into his voice. "I'm sorry, Mom. Tricia and I would love to see you, but we won't expect it. Goodbye." And then he strode out of the house, the door shutting with a firm _click._

Near tears, I looked to my mother as well. She was hugging herself and rocking on the floor, tears streaming down her face from her eyes, which were squeezed shut.

Embry tugged on my shoulders, his eyes on my father. "Let's get out of here. We've worn out our welcome."

Dad glared. "You most certainly have. Get out."

Embry led me out the door and into the drizzle outside. My tears mixed with the water on my face. I had been so sure that with an explanation and with everything laid out that they would understand. But we didn't even get the chance to try. While we all piled silently into the truck, I couldn't help but feel as if Walker and I had been disowned, that as we drove away leaving our childhood home behind us, we were closing that metaphorical book of our lives. The next volume in our stories would not involve the two people who had raised us and loved us. The only pieces of them that would follow would be everything we'd learned from them.

"Walker, take us home," Embry said. "None of us are up for seeing Nessie. And I don't want to upset her, giving her something else to worry about."

Walker just nodded, gripping the steering wheel tighter. Haleigh was sitting between them. She was curled into Walker's side, offering him comfort the way wolves did. Her free hand was holding Christa's tightly.

Embry clutched me tight to his side. His big hand stroked down my back, over my hair. The fingers of his other hand played over my wedding ring. "How's your wrist?" he asked, lips on my temple.

I looked down at my arm. I was so numb that I had forgotten about it. The darkening bruise was a painful surprise and reminder of my father's fear and anger. A bracelet of red that was darkening into blue and black circled my white skin.

Reaching over, Embry took my hand and studied the mark. A low growl vibrated in his chest.

I met his eyes. "It's okay, angel. He was just scared."

"Regardless, he shouldn't have touched you like that, Tricia," Walker said angrily.

"I agree." Embry's eyes were dark with anger.

"Embry," I said, stroking his cheek, "you can't just go around breaking people's arms when they piss you off. He and Mom both are terrified now. They think we're crazy but they can't deny what they saw. Well, Dad can't," I amended. "I don't know what Mom saw."

"What do you suggest we do, Tricia?" Walker demanded. "We can't go back. You know he'll draw on us."

Christa stared at him. "Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?"

Grimly, he nodded. "Dad has a collection. And he'll use them."

"He's right," I agreed.

Embry pulled me tighter against him. "I'll talk to Jacob. Maybe your dad will talk to a neutral party."

I looked down at my small, pale hands. "Maybe it would be best just to leave them alone. Dad made it clear that you and Christa are no longer welcome. And where you two go, Walker and I follow. We chose you, which means we're no longer welcome either."

Just saying it made my heart break. They'd cared for me when my biological parents wanted nothing to do with me. My adoptive parents had fought to keep me, and now I felt like I was throwing that back in their faces. But I couldn't pretend that I was scared of my own husband, brother, and sister-in-law. I wasn't scared and I knew they weren't crazy. Mom and Dad would either want us back so bad that they'd listen or ignore it completely to get us back in their lives. Or they would choose to have nothing more to do with us. Despite the pain, I was ready to accept either choice.

Walker dropped us off at our front door. Christa gave me a tight hug. "Put some ice on that wrist and take some Advil. It'll keep the inflammation down."

Swallowing hard, I nodded. "Thanks. I will. If you get an update on Nessie before I do, let me know."

"Of course."

Walker was still too pissed to offer words of comfort so he'd stayed in the truck with Haleigh attached to his side. She waved through the open door. I waved back, a feeling of sorrow for her clenching my heart. She shouldn't have had to see that. In fact, we shouldn't have tried to have that conversation with her there. It should have been just us adults. But _no_, I had to open my big mouth.

After they pulled away, Embry pulled me inside. We didn't bother with the lights or anything else. He forced us to stop in the kitchen to grab a bag of ice and some ibuprofen. He watched me closely to make sure I took the medicine. Then he led me into the bedroom and stripped us down. Crawling into bed beside him, I rested my head on his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, his fingers tracing designs on my hip.

"I will be. I just feel bad for Haleigh. She shouldn't have had to be there for that. If I had just kept my mouth closed, they never would have assumed she had a job, which wouldn't have led into the whole thing."

"Tricia, honey, you cannot blame yourself for that. How were we supposed to know that they would assume she had a job just because you said you were watching Haleigh? Hell, I don't even know how we got to the whole werewolf thing. None of what happened was your fault. You just feel bad for how it went down and that it didn't go the way we all were hoping for." He tightened his grip. "I may not be fond of your dad, but I never wanted there to be a rift between you and him. Our problems shouldn't be your problems."

"But you're my husband, Embry. It's in the job description of being a wife to stand by you."

His lips were warm on my forehead. "And I appreciate that, but it shouldn't cost you your relationship with your father."

The tears came back but I refused to let them fall. "He won't come around. I picked you over him. And Walker picked Christa over him. The best we could hope for is Mom."

Embry took the bag of ice from me and threw it into the bathroom before dragging me to his chest. I wrapped my body around his. "Why don't we just try to sleep?" he said. "Only time will tell, but maybe he'll come around. Maybe your mother will come around. There's a long list of maybes, sweetie. We'll find out which one it is eventually."

Snuggling closer, I relaxed in the warmth of his skin against mine. "Yeah, but I do know one definite."

His fingers played in the ends of my hair. "And what is that?"

"I love you very much, and I will follow you anywhere. Always." I pressed my lips to the smooth skin of his chest.

"Well I also know a definite."

"Which is?"

"I will never let you go, no matter what you do or say. You're mine. And my soul is yours."

My control shattered, my tears pooling on his skin while my heart broke and filled with love at the same time.

* * *

**Poor Tricia! I feel so bad for her. Buuuuuut...JULES IS ON HER WAY! I know! There wasn't much of Jake and Nessie in this chapter and I'm sorry. But there will be tons of them in the next one, which I am hoping will be done with some of my old speed! I truly love all of you! xoxoxoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

***Clears throat* I'm baaaack! And guess who makes her grand entrance? JULES! Oh I so love this chapter. Oh and you get a lemon ;) You're welcome. **

**And guys, seriously, you are the best ever! All of your supportive reviews just made my heart melt and, yes, I cried. You are amazing and I love you very much! **

**Now no more talking! On with the show!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**JPOV**

I helped Nessie out of the truck and into Edward's embrace before going to get Will. It was eleven o'clock at night according to the dashboard's clock. The contractions had stayed at twenty for a good while before we were convinced it wasn't a false alarm.

By the time I got Will out of the car seat and his bag on my shoulder, Edward and Carlisle already had her inside. Will was out cold, drooling on my shirt. I covered him with his blanket and made sure his stuffed wolf was in the bag before locking up the truck. I'd made sure to buckle in the new car seat earlier in the day. We were going to need something bigger than this truck, an SUV of some sort. Especially if there was going to be another baby assuming our family pattern followed her dreams.

Out of nowhere the bag was taken off my shoulder.

"Easy there, big guy."

Seth was grinning at me, putting the strap on his shoulder. God, he looked so much better. Healthy, vibrant. Alive. That special sparkle that belonged only to him was in his eyes. Shelby was beside him with Brayden in her arms. He was also passed out cold.

"Hey, guys," I said with pleasant surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Shelby shrugged. "We saw you peel out of the drive. Figured must be time for Ness to get ready."

Nodding, I took in a deep breath. "Yeah. He's probably checking to see if she's dilated any."

We walked up the porch steps together when Seth asked, "Isn't your sister due next month? I figured Ness had progressed faster than she really had."

He rushed forward to open the door for me and Shelby. I grinned at him. "Thanks. And yes, she's due next month, at the end. Has Carlisle estimated a due date for the two of you yet?"

Shelby shook her head in front of me. "Nope. He's hesitant to because of how my pregnancy with Brayden went. It could be a full nine months or it could be anywhere before Christmas. For now, he says the baby is a steady two months developed."

"Thank God for that," Seth said. When Shelby and I looked at him, he shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. But I'm just now getting used to being back. I kind of want more time with Shelby and Brayden before the new addition arrives."

Shelby smiled lovingly at her mate. Even she was looking better with Seth's healing. The tightness around her eyes was lessening. She didn't look as tired. And though she was only two months along, I could sense the pregnancy from her. Not that I made a habit of looking, but her breasts were heavy once more. Her already tanned skin had that hormonal glow to it. And she was a lot nicer. But if I hadn't known her, I'd have already figured it out anyway because of the way she held Brayden and the way she would smile at him while she put her fingers gently to her stomach.

For a moment, I thought about how women must feel being pregnant. As a guy, the only thing I could do was watch as my wife's belly grew and be with her during the labor. But what must it be like to know that your body is growing another life inside it? A stupid image came to mind of a diagram of a man and a woman. Where the man was pictured completely solid, the woman was pictured as empty in the abdominal area, showing an open space where a baby could grow. I couldn't fathom the idea at all. I was meant to be solid while Nessie nurtured the child. That's just how it was and how my brain was wired to view it.

"Jake?"

Snapping back to reality, I saw Shelby watching me with her eyebrows arched. I'd been staring at her. Shaking my head to clear it, I said, "Sorry. Lost in thought."

A moment later, Edward was standing in front of me. "Jacob, Nessie wants you."

Rosalie came up beside him. "I can take Will for you. Please?"

Gently so as not to wake him, I handed my son over to his aunt. Grinning, she tucked him against her chest. "Your little sister is on her way," she whispered quietly. Will moved a little before settling into the crook of her arm.

I looked back to Shelby and Seth.

Shelby grinned. "Go on. We'll keep everyone who isn't here updated. We'll also take care of Will. Don't worry about anything except Nessie and Jules."

Dropping a kiss to Will's head, I went for the stairs, taking them two at a time. I found that I'd been right. Nessie was on the bed, legs bent. She'd insisted on wearing one of my t-shirts instead of the gown. The thing hung off one shoulder. Luckily it was a black shirt so nobody could see through it because she wasn't wearing a bra. Carlisle was bent under the blanket that was across her knees. While he did his thing, I went to the huge sink, pressed the pedal and scrubbed up to my elbows. While I was drying off, Mara came in from the bathroom.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with surprise.

Her white and purple hair was braided down her straight spine. She was holding a cup with something that was steaming. Her white eyes met mine. Even though we hadn't gotten off on a good start, we'd spoken privately a few times about Seth's progress. She was incredibly smart, attitude like a whip. Like Nessie and Shelby, she wasn't afraid to put me back in my place.

Flashing white teeth from her purple lips, she said, "I was a midwife in the pack that I lived with. It's second nature to help birth a cub."

I eyed the cup of steaming liquid. "What is that?"

"Oh, it's a tea remedy. Carlisle mentioned that Nessie didn't want medication in her system while giving birth. This is all natural herbs. It will help with the pain and to relax her enough that her body can do what it needs to do without her mind interfering. Though I support the no medication, that much pain isn't safe for mother or child."

"And it's safe?"

"Absolutely. I'll even drink some if it will make you feel better." Then she lifted the cup to her lips and took a healthy gulp. Her features scrunched together. "It doesn't taste all that wonderful but it will do the job."

"Jacob, leave her alone," Nessie said in a strained voice. "I want her here, and I agreed to the tea." She held her hand out to me.

In less than a heartbeat, I was at her side. Gripping her hand in mine, I stroked stray strands of hair from her already sweaty skin. "Okay, baby," I said putting her hand to my chest. "How you feeling?"

Her fingers tightened on mine but she smiled tightly. "We're at five minutes now."

"What? We haven't been here that long and the tens just started." I looked to Carlisle who was just emerging from under the blanket. "Is this okay?"

The good doctor snapped off his gloves. "Oh yes. It's always the first labor that take the longest. Usually all births after the first are a bit faster. And this doesn't surprise me, especially with your daughter's growth inside the womb."

Nessie's nails bit into mine. "So when do I get to push?"

He blinked at her. "Right now, you are about eight and a half centimeters dilated."

She groaned and threw her head back into the pillow. "Great. It took thirteen hours to break one centimeter last time."

Chuckling, Carlisle patted her knee. "I highly doubt we'll be waiting that long. Will was a full nine months, which was why I was okay with you getting up to walk around."

"But my water hasn't broken yet."

The doc shook his head. "That doesn't mean anything. I might have to break it myself. Your water breaking is just a very helpful sign that the labor isn't false. But we already know that with how dilated you are. If you were only at five, I'd say that could be a sign to look for, but not at eight and a half."

"So we do have some waiting ahead of us," I said.

"Unfortunately, yes. It's always a waiting game with the dilation."

Nessie sighed. "But I'm not allowed out of bed."

Carlisle shook his head. "When in doubt, don't. Personally, I don't feel comfortable giving the go ahead. At least not around the house. If you stay in the room, I can handle that."

"Thanks, Grandpa," she said tiredly. Once he was gone, she looked to me. "Baby, could you please get me a fresh pair of panties from our bag? I packed like ten pair just in case."

"Sure."

While I did that, Mara took my place at the bedside handing over the cup. "Drink a little now. In a half hour, we'll finish it."

Digging through the bag, I heard Nessie make a choking sound. "Jeez, that's nasty. Ugh."

Laughing, I walked back over and stood at her feet. "Straighten your legs." It was odd doing the intimate gesture of putting panties on my wife, sliding them up her legs in front of another woman. But Mara wasn't paying any attention to me. It was like I wasn't even there. Once I got Nessie's feet through the holes, I did indeed slide the cloth up her smooth legs. When I got up higher, I tugged a little. "Can you lift up?" She lifted her hips just enough for me to finish putting them on. It was a lot more fun taking them off.

Once they were on, she sat up, pulling the shirt down and towel off. Even with her extended abdomen, the shirt covered everything. It always surprised me when I was forced to see how tiny she really was. Her presence in my life was so huge that she seemed larger than life. But even with a baby inside of her, my simple t-shirt was still a tent on her.

Pushing the button on the bed, she sat up even more looking exhausted already. Mara sat in the chair next to the bed and put the cup on a little table nearby. Picking up a brush, she reached for Nessie's hair. Smiling appreciatively, Nessie leaned forward and pulled all of her hair over her shoulder so the other woman could have more access.

"That feels wonderful," Nessie said when Mara started brushing again.

"You should try to get some sleep before your baby girl arrives. Get as much rest as possible."

Smiling, Nessie looked at me through heavy-lidded eyes. "Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?"

I was already moving for the other side of the bed. "Of course. Why do you ask such silly questions, woman?"

She moved over on the bed making room for me. As soon as I was in reach, she gripped my hand and sighed as if touching me gave her some peace. "Because you have problems being touchy-feely in front of other people."

Mara met my eyes with a smile. "Don't worry. As a midwife, I've seen some pretty flush-inducing sights. The two of you cuddling is nothing compared to my old life."

I gave her a small smile before I kicked off my boots and slid onto the bed beside Nessie. Immediately, she moved into me, sighing against my chest. "So, how's our son?"

Her lips brushed the skin of my neck above my collar. "Rosalie has him. Or I assume she still has him. He was out cold when I handed him over."

"Mmm, after I fall asleep you should go check on him. Just in case."

"You got it." I kissed her forehead and stroked her back while Mara continued to steadily brush her hair.

After about five minutes of watching the brush move at an even pace through her hair, I thought she'd finally passed out. She may have but another contraction had her wincing and hissing through her teeth. However, this time, the expression of pain passed quickly before she sank back into sleep. When it had been down to the wire with Will, the pain had lasted longer, her face permanently pinched in pain.

I looked over her shoulder at Mara.

She smiled. "The tea," she said in a low voice. "Even that little bit helped. It's very potent."

"Clearly. Thank you. I can stand to see her in pain."

She smiled down at Nessie's peacefully sleeping form. "You're very welcome. When Cricket said I was needed here, I had no idea how badly." When I gave her a look, she quickly continued. "I'm not saying you and your pack are falling apart. What I meant was that there's so much life here that needs to be protected. Carlisle is marvelous as a doctor, but sometimes, even the greatest of doctors need help, especially when it comes to the metaphysical. He is a physician of the body. Though I am a healer as well, I am also one of the mind and spirit. And I have experience in dealing with the mental faculties of werewolves. Carlisle not so much."

I nodded, my chin rubbing over Nessie's hair. "Well, after seeing what you've done with Seth, I'd say you're a miracle worker. Thank you for him, too."

She smiled again but her lips thinned out. Every time I thanked her for him, she wanted to reply that it was her calling and no thanks were necessary. But how could I not? Everything she'd done, despite my animosity, had been to help those who wanted her help. Even Caden though it was still slow work with him. He was starting to trust her, especially after Seth and I had a chat with him. So the only way I could actually pay her back was to let her stay here. She seemed to like it here.

But… "Do you miss home?" I surprised myself by asking.

Startled, her white eyes widened when she looked up at me from Nessie's hair. When I didn't take the question back, she frowned as if thinking over her answer. Her hands went back to work on my mate's hair. I was starting to think she wasn't going to answer she was quiet so long.

Her voice, when it came, shocked me out of the heavy silence. "Honestly, yes, sometimes. I miss the familiarity of my surroundings and the people with whom I grew up. The security of family. But eventually, every bird must leave the nest whether it be to a new house away from parents or to a new city entirely. I believe that Cricket calling me here was my pull out. I'm the youngest of four girls. My three sisters are all married and have moved away from my mother, though they stayed close with neighboring packs."

Her tone was wistful as if she very much wanted to go back home. "You know that you can leave whenever you want. You don't have to stay here."

To my surprise, a hurt expression crossed her features before she locked it down with a smile and nod.

"Mara," I said in a tone that let her know I wanted her attention.

Her eyes came up to mine once more.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you. In fact, we've all become attached to you for what you've done for Seth and what you're trying to do for Caden. If you would like to stay here in Forks, I'll allow it. But just know that you can come and go as you please to visit. We survived years without you. I'm sure we could survive a couple weeks for you to see your family."

Her expression turned to something close to wonder. "You would truly allow me to stay?"

I shrugged the best I could wrapped around Nessie. "If it's becoming a modern notion, then why not keep up? My pack has always been separated but now that we're mingling with Children of the Moon, we need to be up to speed. Sometimes I do wish we could go back to a quiet slice but that's just not possible. Word is spreading about our genetic wolves because of the Volturi's defeat here. We need to be as prepared as possible for anything. The vampires aren't our only enemies anymore. Now there are other werewolves and witches. Better safe than sorry."

Her smile was soft. "I would love to stay. I like it here. And with a witch around, others wouldn't be so quick to view you as a threat." We were silent for another few minutes. Nessie's body twitched and shivered with spasms but didn't wake up. "You should go check on your son. The time between contractions is getting few and far between. I'll watch over her."

There was a brief hesitation on my part before I extracted myself from Nessie's hold. She sank into the mattress and sighed. My hand was on the doorknob when Mara called over her shoulder.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah?" Looking over my shoulder, I saw Mara's hand resting on Nessie's stomach.

"Your daughter is very close to being on her way. Nessie will not be in labor long. You'll be holding your daughter in just a little over an hour."

Swallowing hard, I gripped the knob. "That fast?"

She nodded. "Yes, but both will make it through healthy. I only warn you to be quick with your son."

Instead of answering, I made my way down the stairs. Edward and Carlisle were in Carlisle's study looking over papers. No doubt his notes of Nessie's pregnancy. Leaving them to it, I jogged down to the ground floor. It was midnight but the adults were all wide awake. Someone had made a thick pallet of blankets in a corner for all the kids. Will, Brayden, Henry, and Leila were sprawled out over it. Each of them were covered in their own blanket with their own stuffed toy with them. To my complete surprise, the house was quietly packed. Billy, Sue, and Charlie stayed near the children. Sam and Emily were talking with Seth and Shelby. Angelica and Bianca were chatting with Morgan, Lucas, and my sisters.

Rebecca glanced over at me. Smiling, she walked over and hugged me. "Hey, you."

I hugged her back. "Hey. What are you doing here? It's midnight."

"Jacob," she said, pulling back, "this is my niece being born. I was here for Will's birth. Like I'm really not going to be here after I've missed so much?"

"You're right. Sorry. I'm glad you're here."

Rachel came over. She looked exhausted but she refused to go down. We hugged awkwardly around her stomach. "So how is she?"

Now everyone went quiet, listening for the answer. "She's fine. Sleeping right now. Mara gave her something to relax her. She's not quite dilated fully yet and her water hasn't broken. But the contractions are intensifying. Mara suspects that Jules's accelerated growth will mean that the labor will be fast, that she'll be here within the next couple hours. Nessie just wanted me to come check on Will before it all happens."

She motioned to the pallet. "Well, as you can see, we put them all down."

"Yeah, thanks for that. I really do appreciate it."

She laughed. "Yeah you forgot to mention that he wouldn't actually go down without that wolf. Took us a while to figure that part out."

"My bad," I replied, walking over to where my son was sprawled out.

Luckily he was closest to me. Kneeling down, I brushed the hair from his forehead. He moved into my touch in his sleep. Leaning over, I kissed his forehead and tucked the blanket around him. As I pulled back, he reached out and wrapped his little hand around my fingers, gripping hard. I stroked his skin with my thumb.

A heavy hand landed on my shoulder.

Billy smiled down at me from his chair. Right here, in this room, was three generations of Blacks. Billy, my sisters and me, and our children. Another was going to be added to the ranks tonight. In a month, another would follow.

I smiled back and knew it was sad. It would have been perfect if my mother had been here.

Billy must have seen it in my eyes. "She'd be proud of you, Jake. And she's watching. I know she is."

Two more hands landed on me. One on my other shoulder and one at my neck. Rachel and Rebecca.

Choking back the lump in my throat, I bent back over my son. "I gotta go take care of Momma," I whispered, still rubbing over his chubby arm. "I'll come get you when your sister's here." Standing up, I was faced with every female giving me that "oh that was so cute" look. I rolled my eyes.

Seth came up to me, grinning. "Good luck, man. I know you can't wait to meet her because I know the feeling."

We both cracked a smile. "Thanks."

He stepped toward me, lowering his voice as his smile died down. "Christa just called me."

"What happened?"

"Something big went down with Walker's parents. That's why they and Embry and Tricia aren't here. Whatever happened upset Tricia and Walker, so they went home. I'm just letting you know. She didn't want me to because you're stressed enough, which I agree with, and that's why I won't tell you what happened until after Jules is here and you get some sleep. So don't worry about anything, alright? I'll take care of it."

God, it was good to have him back. "Good to have you back, Seth."

"Good to be back."

We clapped hands and hugged shoulders.

But not two seconds later, Edward was in front of me.

The look on his face told me everything I needed to know before he spoke. "It's time. She's awake and fully dilated."

A heartbeat later, I was at the foot of the stairs, Bella and Edward right behind me. We flew into the room.

Nessie was sitting up, looking refreshed and ready to go, but the pain was back around her eyes. The cup that had the tea in it was in the sink and empty. Her expression brightened and relaxed when she saw me. After scrubbing up again, I hopped onto the bed behind her, stretching my legs out beside hers. I braced my arms on the rails of the bed and she gripped my wrists.

"How is he?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Fast asleep with the other kids."

"Other kids?"

I nodded. "Everybody's here. Leila, Brayden, and Henry. I'm sure Claire and Haleigh would be here, too, if they could."

Carlisle looked up over the blanket that lay across her knees. "Are we ready? Because your daughter is ready to make her world premiere."

Leaning back against my chest, Nessie looked up at me and smiled, the barest hint of pain seeping into her eyes. "I'm ready to meet her."

I smiled back and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "Me, too."

Mara stood to the side of the bed with a bowl of water and a wash cloth. Bella and Edward were standing at the head of the bed. Esme was standing behind her mate just like before. Her smile was warm and comforting.

Carlisle bent down once more. "Alright. Nessie…you know the drill."

Her fingers tightened around my wrists when she nodded in determination.

And so it began.

**ChristaPOV**

Walker was still livid. I knew that because when I finally managed to get Haleigh to go down and walked back into our room, he was still pacing furiously. Hands on his hips, he glowered at the floor as if it had been the thing to commit the offense. We'd been home for a few hours, but she'd been so upset that it took all that time to calm her down. Now it was my husband's turn.

"Walker-,"

He shook his head violently, jaw clenched. "I cannot fucking believe that man!"

Hurrying to close the door and walk toward him, I hissed, "Walker, please! Haleigh just went down. Please calm down."

"How can I?" Shoving those powerful hands into his hair, he growled before sitting heavily onto the foot of the bed. "The way he spoke to you, especially in front of Haleigh. The way he talked about you and Embry like you two are drug lords. Really? And that doesn't even touch how he handled Tricia. I was ready to put him on the ground for that." He snorted unattractively. "Him protect her? Yeah, good luck with that. Especially with how possessive Embry is of her. Nothing will ever stop him getting to her."

Sighing, I sat down beside him, rubbing my hand over his broad shoulders. "Hey, at least he thought you were crazy first. And at least he doesn't exactly hate you. Mine did, and I had no escape. Tricia's tough. She'll be fine. Embry will take care of her."

With a huge sigh, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "After tonight, I'm not sure that he doesn't hate us. God, it's just like you and me all over again."

"How is this like us?"

Reaching over his shoulder, he took my arm and slid his fingers to my hand where my wedding ring rested on my finger. "I did everything to make you hate me. I mean, I lied to you to get you to hate me and it didn't work. Maybe for, like, two seconds. But tonight? I told my dad the truth, and the way he looked at me…" he shook his head. "I'll never forget that. He doesn't think I'm crazy, Chris. That was just a logical explanation that could be fixed. You see, Dad prides himself on knowing exactly what this world is about, that it's solid. Tonight, we crumbled that solidity to dust and he _hates _us for it. He saw Embry's face change. And he saw my eyes turn from sherry to bright green. He can't chalk that up to lighting issues."

Even now, talking about it, his eyes took on a soft glow, the green bleeding over the aforementioned sherry like food coloring dropped into water. Kneeling in front of him, I moved between his spread knees and started unbuttoning his shirt. He just watched my face with those wolf eyes. Leaning forward, I kissed his jaw. "It's okay, Walker," I whispered. "We'll get through it together and talk to Haleigh in the morning. Right now, you just need to feel loved. You need a reminder that there are people who do love you."

The rest of the shirt's buttons were tucked into his pants. Gripping the material, I pulled it out and finished quickly. Once the halves fell open, my hands smoothed up his chiseled, bare stomach and torso to his shoulders. After I pushed it from his shoulders, the shirt fell to his wrists. He yanked it off and threw it before reaching for me. Gently, I gripped his wrists and move them away, letting him know that this was about _me _loving _him_. Taking the hint, he leaned back onto his hands, giving me access to the fastenings on his pants. I made quick work on his shoes and socks. He rubbed his feet against the carpet before moving them over my thighs. His toes moved under my skirt to rub across my very lower belly over my panties.

I kissed his stomach while unbuttoning and unzipping his pants. Roughly, I shoved them down his thighs. He finished getting them off with his feet. He rarely wore boxers and today was no exception. His erection was long and thick against his stomach. Before I could get my hands around it, he leaned forward to pull my shirt over my head. His favorite bra of mine pushed my breasts up, forcing them to heave with my steadily increasing heavy breaths. A low growl permeated the air and his eyes were nearly consumed with green. He reached for me again, but managed to stop himself when he realized what he was doing. When he was resting his weight on his hands once more, I gripped his hard shaft.

He groaned in ecstasy. Moisture came from the tip of him and I used it to slick my hands so I wouldn't hurt him. I also used my tongue in one long stroke from his balls to the tip of him. His body convulsed, arms partially collapsing. I gave him a moment before going to work on him. When his breathing evened out a little, I covered him with my mouth, slowly at first. Every time with oral, I had to get used to his girth filling my mouth and throat.

"Shiiit," he hissed when I put him all the way down my throat, my lips meeting his body. "Fuck," he cursed again when I slowly slid back up for air, coating him in saliva.

Grinning around him, I gripped the base of him and went to work bobbing up the top half of him making sure to add extra suction. He was never circumcised and loved to have that extra bit of skin treated roughly. So I made sure to nibble and suck on it as hard as I could. We both liked a little pain with our sex. Bianca had said that it was an alpha thing. The higher in the pack the couple, the more aggressive they were because of the dominance coursing through them. I knew that Jake and Nessie were the same way.

"God, Chris," he said, laying back on the bed. He watched me through heavily lidded eyes.

Letting go of him, I crawled up his body and straddled his hips, lifting my skirt so that his length was pressed between my thighs with nothing but my panties separating us. I felt him jerk against me. I leaned down over him, planting my hands in the mattress above his shoulders and kissed him. It was deep and probing, tasting. My tongue slid over his, gently, savoring. There was no rough treatment other than the oral tonight. He needed love, not animal mating.

His big hands lifted to skim over my sides and back. In a practiced motion, he unclasped my bra. I let his lips long enough to allow him to pull it off my body. I'd expected him to take my breasts into his mouth. Instead, he allowed me to go back to kissing him, his rough palms smoothing over my breasts, cupping and kneading them while our tongues dueled. One of his hands moved up to my hair, digging through it to the nape of my neck to push me tighter to him. Underneath me, his hips pressed up gently, rubbing himself against my soaking panties. The friction made me moan into his mouth.

In a swift movement, he sat up with me still across his hips. He pressed us chest to chest and it made me wonder what his hands were up to. At my back, I felt him undoing the buttons to my skirt. I was about to get up to yank it off when he gripped my hips and shook his head. "Stay. I want to do this."

Finally, his mouth left mine to press kisses into my neck. Every now and then, his tongue made an appearance while his hands still worked at my skirt, pulling it up to reach all the buttons. My hands explored his muscular chest and arms, and ribbed abdomen. He must have hit the last button on the skirt because he tugged on it and suddenly I was left straddling him in my panties. His erection was still thick and pounding under me, but he stopped moving and pressed his face between my breasts, arms wrapped around my waist. Bringing my arms up, I wrapped them around his broad shoulders and held him.

Kissing the top of his head, I said, "This is supposed to be for you."

He pulled back to look at me. "And you've given me what I need. You. I love you so much."

I smiled softly down at him, stroking his face. "And I love you. Some people just can't handle the supernatural. The best we can do is give them space. Maybe they'll come around. But for now, Walker, you are surrounded by people who love you. Me. Haleigh. Tricia. Our packs. You're not alone. I know it hurts because they're your parents, and I know you want to be able to cut those ties in one swift move. I'll stand by you no matter what. You're my husband, my mate for life. Nothing will ever change that."

Those bright green eyes studied my face for a moment before he crashed our mouths together. In the frenzy of lips, tongue, and teeth, he reached between us, moved my panties aside and thrust himself up inside me. I broke away just enough to let out a gasp before he devoured my lips again. It was thick and tight inside me. I'd had no foreplay besides pleasuring him. I was wet but tight and it felt so good. He filled me up in such a way that I knew we fit perfectly. He was my missing puzzle piece, my other half. The pressure and friction was exquisite when he put his hands to my hips and forced me to move. I took his lead and dance over him. Her jerked inside of me as I moved. Hands on his shoulders, I used the leverage and my knees to help push me up and down on him. With every thrust he went deeper.

We pulled back from each other at the same time to just stare while our bodies took over. This was more than just sex. It was there in his eyes. The pain over his parents. The love for me. The pleasure I was giving him.

I put all the love and heat I felt for him into my eyes so he'd know that it wasn't just sex for me either. Everything about him touched my heart and soul. His scent was a part of me, burrowing into my nose to seep into my brain. I'd be able to find him in a crowded room any day. The way his eyes changed when he took me. It was a testament to how he felt about me, how I affected him. And I loved it. Every time I touched him, it felt like a shiver over my own skin, a shadow caressing me the way I caressed him.

And I knew when something bothered him, when something shook him. The night he'd tortured that prisoner, I'd felt it. My skin had felt tight over my bones. Tonight was no different. The hurt over his parents physically tugged at my heart.

Now, Walker must have seen it in my eyes because his filled with tears. Putting his hands under my behind, he turned over and crawled for the pillows. Laying me on my back, he settled over me, still thrusting gently. Now the friction was building up the pleasure slowly, tenderly. He buried his dark head into my neck, lips on my skin. His breathing was harsh and labored. Something wet touched my neck and I knew it wasn't his tongue. Those tears had spilled over.

Again, my hands smoothed over his back and shoulders soothingly. "It's okay, Walker. We don't have to finish this. We can lay here, comforting each other."

Instead of answering, he shook his head, hitched my thigh up his hip and thrust into me hard. I grunted at the harsh intrusion. Now the hurt was replaced by anger and fierceness that I couldn't explain.

My thought processes, however, were interrupted by firings of pleasure. His hips had picked up the pace, the sound of wet flesh against wet flesh was getting faster and heavier. His growl picked up once more in my ear, vibrating his chest against my breasts. The motion sent an erotic chill over my skin.

"Yes, Walker. I'm yours. Always."

Just as the pleasure was getting to be too much, his lower stomach rubbing against that bundle of nerves, he pulled back completely, sliding out of me. That fierceness was in his eyes when I looked into them.

"Good," he growled. "I need you."

Then, with his hands on my hips, he flipped me over to my stomach and forced my hips up off the mattress a little before thrusting into me once more. He grabbed my wrists and forced me to hold onto the bars that connected the headboard to the frame. His hands grabbed onto the wood of the headboard and slammed into me, fucking me something fierce. His hips hammered against my ass, the slapping sounds mixing with his growls.

The force was so much that the bed started to shake and move on the frame. Months ago, we'd moved it away from the wall so as not to accidentally wake Haleigh. Under the force of his onslaught, the bed groaned and creaked. I felt him move so that he was no longer on his knees but leaning into me like he was doing a push up. The angle forced him deeper with each forceful thrust. Also at this angle, he hit the deepest part of me, forcing my pleasure up another notch. His heavy sac slapped against the bundle at the top of my sex, giving me twice the pleasure.

Fire burned my belly, tightening it up. My spine spasmed while my body rocked.

"Walker…so close. Can't…keep quiet."

Growl sharpening, he reached down to clap his hand over my mouth. Apparently, it was a popular thing with alpha couples who had children. Nessie and Shelby both had confirmed that their mates liked to be the ones to control the noise.

With his hand over my mouth, he used that to push my body back onto his hard, impaling me. When he stayed that way, his thick erection jerking inside me, I shattered.

The fire exploded inside me, searing through my skin. I screamed against his hand. A moment later, when my body started to milk him, he came hard in hot jets. The heat of him added to the fire that had consumed me. He was so deep inside me that I swore I could feel him pass my belly button. When his growl started to turn to a yell, I felt him bend over me to set his teeth into the nape of my neck. The vibration of the growl shot down my spine like a tuning fork, making my body hum.

There were no multiple orgasms for either of us. This one was powerful enough to turn us both to liquid inside our skin.

The moment we were both done jerking, he collapsed on top of me briefly before sliding to the side.

"Jesus," he panted. His eyes were heavy lidded.

I knew I was the same way, panting and sweaty, barely able to move. Walker moved me toward him, stroking my sweaty curls over my shoulder.

"I know you wanted that to be softer-,"

I shook my head the best I could. "I wanted it to be what you needed it to be. If that was what you needed…well, do you hear me complaining?"

Chuckling tiredly, he kissed the spot between my eyes. "No and I'm glad. Thank you, Christa. I don't know what I'd do without you now that my…yeah. I just don't know what I'd do."

Shoring up my strength, I lifted my hand to push his damp hair from his eyes. "You won't be alone. Haleigh and I will never leave you. Ever. And neither will Tricia." I shrugged. "It's time to really start a new chapter, not just a new section of an old chapter. Somehow, we'll find that this will be good for us."

Those eyes studied me. Though he was dead tired, they were sharp and alert. And had turned back to sherry. "I'm thinking it would help to move."

My eyes widened. "Out with your pack?"

Turning his head, he kissed my fingers. "Our pack, Chris. They're our pack. And yes, that's what I mean. Let's just get out of here. Pack up and get out. Get you out of this godforsaken house. I know it has to carry some bad memories."

I stroked his chest, feeling his heart strong under my palm. "But also some good memories. The first time we made love. Remember? Our first kiss."

"I do remember. I would never forget that. But we could start over. As a family. You, me, and Haleigh. She could be around her own kind. So could I. And you won't be far from the Cullens and your pack."

"What about Claire?"

"Chris, sweetie, we wouldn't be completely cutting ties. I would never do that to Haleigh or to Claire. In fact, I think it's good that all the kids grow up together. It would unify the packs better than any of us would think possible." He brought up his hand to gently stroke my cheek. "Baby, if you don't want to, just say so. I threw it out there as an idea."

Suddenly, I was so very tired. Leaning forward, I kissed the hollow of his throat. "Can I have a couple days to think about it?"

"Of course." Rolling over onto his back, he pulled me to his side, my head on his shoulder. "Now let's get some sleep. I'm sure you and Haleigh want to go see the new addition to the pack tomorrow."

Reaching down, I grabbed the sheet and covered us to the waists with it. "Absolutely. That's if she has the baby tomorrow. Labor can last for hours."

"Well, she's in good hands. We'll still go up tomorrow to check on them."

"Absolutely," I said again before yawning.

Cuddling down with my husband, I was completely satisfied, body loose and liquid, still humming with pleasure. My brain was likewise exhausted. "Do you think we'll ever have a baby?"

He chuckled against my ear. "I'm sure we will with all the pregnancy hormones floating around. Everybody's trying to get pregnant. And we're still young. I'm nineteen and you're in your twenties. We'll be fine."

I snuggled down against him. "Yeah. No rush. Just curious."

His lips pressed to my hair again. "We'll give Haleigh a sibling. I promise. When we're ready to start trying, if I have to, I'll stay in bed with you all day every day just making love to you. I'm sure someone will watch Haleigh."

Grinning, I said, "What about your recoup time?"

"Baby, if you were ready to go another round right now, I'm pretty sure I'd have no problem getting it up for you."

I chuckled, feeling the tightness at my hips. "Oh, God, no. I am completely sated right now."

"Exactly. Which is why I am, too." He hugged me to him. "Now get some sleep. You're exhausted."

"You, too. And that's an order."

"Yes, ma'am."

Holding out as long as I could, I barely stayed awake long enough to feel his breathing even out before I followed him into the blissful darkness or unconsciousness.

**JPOV**

Nessie collapsed back against my chest in exhaustion an hour and a half later. The sound of our daughter crying was music to my ears while Esme cleaned her up the way she had with Will. Mara was washing Nessie's face with a cool, wet cloth. My arms from my wrists to my elbows were just one huge bruise with bloodied scratches, popped muscle, and broken bones in my hands. But I didn't care as long as both my girls were safe and strong.

Carlisle went to join Esme and recorded all of my daughter's stats. He turned with a grin. "She's perfectly healthy."

Nessie sagged even more against me. Once Carlisle broke her water, it had just been a flurry of movement and pushes. Nessie had been ready to go even through the pain. I knew she was tired of being pregnant and just wanted her babies together.

After a few more moments, Esme placed Jules in our arms. Just like with Will, we both held her. Nessie started to cry, tears falling onto the blanket. Jules was beautiful. At the same time, she looked both the same and different than her brother. Her skin was paler, not russet but tan. The patch of hair that she already had was lighter brown, sandy with bronze shot through. We wouldn't know the color of her eyes until she opened them. Instead, she went straight for feeding. Will had taken his sweet time going for the goods, but Jules just went for it. Carlisle and the others cleared the room before Nessie bared herself.

"Finally," Nessie whispered.

She was still sweaty and panting. Reaching around her, I picked up the cloth and dipped it in the cool water. After I rung it out, I put it to the pack of her neck under her hair.

"Thank you," she said on a relieved sigh. "I really messed up your arms again, didn't I?"

Chuckling, I pressed a kiss to the skin just under her ear. "And just like last time, I'll heal."

"God, it feels like we just did this, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. She's just as beautiful as Will."

Jules finished her feeding and smacked her lips before opening her eyes.

"Oh my God," Nessie whispered pulling up her shirt. She cleared her throat. "Just like my dream."

I stared in speechless awe at my daughter. Tears threatened to drown me. Indeed, her eyes were the same aqua color of my mother's. How the hell did that manage to get passed through me? Laughing in joy and astonishment, I stroked her cheek. Those unfocused eyes looked up in my direction…and she smiled at me.

Nessie choked out a laugh. "Such a daddy's girl."

There was a knock on the door before Bella poked her head in. She grinned. "Hey, how are you?"

Nessie smiled at her mother. "We're good, Mom. Come on in."

"Good, because someone woke up with all the screaming."

When she came through the door, she had a very grumpy looking Will in her arms. Nessie and I both chuckled when he reached for us.

"Mama!"

Nessie and I both froze. He'd been trying to talk, throwing out small concoctions of words, but he'd never come close to "mama" or "dada".

I took him from Bella in shock and sat him down on my and Nessie's legs. Stretching out, he looked straight into Nessie's eyes and said it again. "Mama."

She started to cry again, but Will had already moved on trying to see over his mother's elbow at what she was holding. Tearfully, she complied by tilting Jules up. Bella gasped, probably from the eye color, as brother and sister stared at each other for the first time.

Almost as if Will knew, he reached up and gently, so gently, ran his little fingers over his little sister's face. When she closed her eyes, I could have sworn it was in relief. But did babies understand that? She moved a little into his touch. I looked down at him. He was grinning toothily at her.

"They're bonding, Jacob," Nessie said through her tears.

"He loves her."

Looking over, I found Edward had come to stand beside my mother-in-law. Edward smiled at us.

"His thoughts are finally starting to make sense. He really loves her. And the two of you. When he woke up, his first thought was of his mother. Somehow he knew it was you screaming."

Nessie smiled at Will.

"Her eyes are gorgeous," Bella said.

"My mother's," I answered. "They're the same color as my mother's."

Bella's expression softened.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Proud Pawpaw coming through."

Edward and Bella laughed when Billy rolled up beside the bed. His smile faded and turned to tears when he got a good look at his granddaughter. "Sarah," he whispered. "She looks just like her grandmother."

"Would you like to hold her?" Nessie asked gently.

"Would you mind?"

"Of course not. She just fed so she should be okay for now."

I helped transfer Jules to my dad's arms. He held her as if she were glass and stared at her reverently. "So beautiful." He rocked her and hummed to her. Soon she was sleeping again, eyes closed, face peaceful. Will, however, wasn't so happy that his sister was away from him. A grumpy expression crossed his face while he turned, eyes watching her every move. He sucked furiously on his pacifier while Nessie stared lovingly at him.

Billy chuckled. "Uh-oh. I sense a very protective big brother."

Edward came to pick up his grandson and sat down next to Billy's wheelchair, perching Will on his knees so that he was closer to Jules. The grumpy expression left, but his eyes were still watchful. He reached out to pet his hand over her covered feet, almost as if he were soothing her.

Nessie and I shared a look full of love and pride at our family. I was so fiercely proud of her. She had brought two children into the world in less than a year. She never complained or threw that whole, "well I went through labor to give you your children" at me to try to guilt me when we fought.

"Dada."

Surprise had me whipping around to see Will staring up at me with a grin. Jules was awake again, but barely. I could just see a slit of aqua before her eyes closed once more.

"Dada," he said again before pointing at his new sister.

Choked up, I managed to get out, "Yeah, I see her, buddy." He grinned at me. I never realized how much it would mean to hear my son call me that, address me in the way that told me he knew who I was to him.

Nessie stroked my arms. I wrapped them around her and kissed her temple. There was a knock on the door. More visitors.

I looked at Nessie questioningly.

She nodded. "I'm okay. That tea is still working apparently."

"Whatever it is, I'll want some of that." Rachel stepped around everyone to hug first Ness and then me. "You look exhausted but still gorgeous."

"Thank you. Thankfully, she came fast."

"And the proud father?" Rachel smiled and hugged me again. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! And I love you." She turned to look at Jules. "Oh, Jacob!" she gasped. "She's beautiful!"

"Thanks, Rach."

She knelt down beside Edward and Billy, stroking Will's back. He never took his eyes from his sister. Paul came up behind her and shook my hand. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks."

"Really becoming a family man, huh?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so. Ness has her mamma's boy. I just needed a daddy's girl."

The room laughed. Nessie kissed my jaw and leaned back into me. I raised the bed so that I could lay back with her while Jules was passed around. Edward, with Will in his arms, moved around with her so Will could keep an eye on his sister.

"You look good, Ness, for just pushing out a kid."

She smiled. "Thanks, Paul. You know this is going to be you and Rachel in a month, right?"

Paul looked to his wife. "Yeah, I know."

Nessie reached over to grip his hand. "You two will be fine. She's a Black and your wife. She's tough."

Rachel smiled up at Paul.

He smiled back. "I know that." He looked to me. "How could you stand to see or hear her in pain?"

I looked to Nessie. "It's not easy, I won't lie. The best you can do is be there, be her rock. It's a part of having a child."

"If the tea Mara made for me can be made for Rachel, it will help a lot. Especially if you don't want to use drugs."

Rachel came to stand with Paul, her hand wrapped around his. "We don't."

"I'll talk to Mara," Nessie told her. "She was excellent. I wish I'd had her with Will."

"Thank you."

A throat cleared. Carlisle was in the doorway. "I'm sorry to cut the visitation short, but I need to check on my patients. And the mother needs rest."

Bella handed Jules back to Nessie. Gently, I moved from the bed so I could stretch a little and let Nessie sleep. While Carlisle checked both of them over, I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and neck. When I came back out, Mara was giving another cup of something to Nessie. Will was lying next to her, a sippy cup to his lips. Carlisle had laid Jules out on a table and was measuring her again. He took some blood from her, making her cry.

"Here, drink this. It will help you have an actual restful sleep," Mara said.

Nessie took the cup. "Thank you. Hey, Rachel wanted me to ask if you could make that other tea for her when she has her daughter."

Mara smiled. "Of course. I'll go talk to her once I make sure that you're settled."

Smiling, Nessie put the cup to her lips. Her other arm was wrapped around Will. He kept up his mantra of "mama" and "dada" over and over. "You're fabulous."

Mara smiled again and passed her hands over Nessie's body. They glowed a faint silvery white over her heart but turned a dull red the closer they passed over her abdomen.

"What are you doing?" I asked while Nessie drank.

"Simply checking her vitals. The white reveals health. The red is pain."

Most of the color was over the juncture of her thighs. Not surprising since she'd just given birth to a seven pound baby.

"Now, I'll work on healing."

"How?"

"By mixing some of my energy with hers and taking the pain. As a healer one of my gifts is the ability to take pain without feeling it. I can turn it into helpful energy to give back to her."

Sighing in content, Nessie sank back into the bed, cuddling up with our son. The cup was empty. A relaxed smile touched her lips. Mara concentrated over Nessie's pelvis. Slowly, the red started to lighten to pink. The color ran up one of Mara's arms as white ran down the other. When Mara pulled back, the colors disappeared. "She'll heal much faster between the periods of pain."

I looked at her in awe. After healing Nessie, she seemed weaker and tired. "Thank you, Mara. For everything."

She smiled tiredly. "I told you that I like it here. I will do everything I can to help anybody who needs it. Now, I will go speak with your sister. Nessie is finally resting."

And then she was gone. Nessie was fast asleep, cuddled into the blankets. The heart monitor was steady.

"Jacob?" I turned. Carlisle was standing with Jules in his arms. "Would you like to hold your daughter?"

Grinning, I took her from him, finally holding her by myself for the first time. She was lighter than Will had been. I sat down in the recliner that had been permanently moved into the room. Anybody that could get hurt had loved ones who would sit in with them. Jules opened her unfocused eyes, the color startling against her tan skin, and stared at me.

"Hey, baby girl," I whispered.

To my surprise, she smiled at me again.

I grinned back. "Yeah, you know I'm your daddy, don't you?" I kissed her cheek. "You wanna meet the pack? I'm sure they're downstairs. Mommy's asleep. She won't miss us."

Tucking her against my chest, I went for the door. Nessie and Will were both sound asleep. Out of the two, I was more worried about will waking up. He seemed to have an uncanny sense about his sister. And didn't like it when she was out of his sight.

Closing the door behind me as quietly as I could, I found Edward in the hallway. "Hey, can you watch them for me? I'm too wired to sleep and I don't want to wake them up."

He smiled. "Of course." He held his hands out. "May I though? I didn't get a chance."

"Oh, yeah, sure."

She kept her eyes on me until she was firmly in her grandfather's arms.

"You know, even though she does bear a striking resemblance to your mother, she also looks very much like Nessie. Whereas William looks more like you."

"The power of genetics, I guess," I said, shrugging.

He grinned down at her. "Yes."

"Edward, look, I want you to understand something. You're as much a part of my children as Nessie and I am. You're their grandfather. I know we haven't had the easiest relationship since we came into each other's lives, but I do consider you family. You're my wife's father, and in my own way, I do care for you. I may not call you dad, but…the sentiment is still there."

His eyes lifted to mine. They were topaz gold, brimming with emotions and, if I saw correctly, a little bit of respect. "Thank you, Jacob. That means a lot to someone who once believed he was a monster. Bella, you, and Nessie have changed that. And now my…grandchildren."

I stared at him. "You really don't know how to handle that, do you? Thinking of them like that."

Looking back down at Jules, he shook his head. "Ninety years I was alone. No mate, no children left behind. Now, in a little over a decade, I have gained a mate, a child, and now grandchildren. It can be a bit overwhelming. But I do love them. And you. Back when Nessie was a child, on the battlefield, when I called you my son, I meant it. It took me so long to realize that I did treat you as a child. I saw you differently than I saw Bella. To me, Bella presented a mystery but also an old soul. You were young and aggressive, fiercely protective. Reminded me of myself before I was turned. I suppose that's why I've always seen you as a son. Especially after Nessie was born, how you treated her. With her, I saw who you really were outside of my rival. I saw a man with a big heart and a shining soul who just wanted to love and be loved. When I saw you had imprinted, I couldn't bear to blame you for it." He grinned. "And now, I'm holding the next generation even though they won't hold the Cullen name. It's amazing to know that if I do die, there is still a part of me, other than my daughter, that is moving on, creating more life. Because make no mistake, these babies will grow up to imprint and have families of their own. My blood, no matter how dulled, will still be a part of them."

To that, there was nothing I could say. Truthfully, nothing that needed to be said. After a few more moments, he handed my daughter back to me, patted my shoulder, and went into the room.

Clutching her to me again, I went down the stairs to find the living room filled with people. Rachel and Paul had gone home. Shelby was laying on Seth on the couch, both snoozing. Brayden, Henry, and Leila were still passed out on the pallet. Mara was out cold on the love seat, her white and purple hair startling against the black leather. I could hear Billy talking softly from the kitchen. Lucas and Morgan were in the corner, heads bent together. Emily and Sam were playing chess with Jasper's set. When those who were awake saw me, they all got to their feet in a rush. Seth and Shelby woke up. I jerked my head toward the kitchen before they could say anything so that we wouldn't wake up the kids.

We all trooped into the huge kitchen. Billy looked up from talking to Charlie and grinned. "How's Nessie?"

"Finally asleep. But this one seems as awake as I am." She smiled up at me again.

"Jacob," Sue sighed. "She's so pretty. So much like Sarah. You and Nessie just make some gorgeous kids."

I laughed. "Thanks, Sue. I'll be sure to tell Ness."

"Where's Will?" Charlie asked.

"Sleeping with Momma. Of course, if he wakes up and sees that his baby sister isn't near him, I'm sure Edward will be bringing him down."

Charlie's eyebrows shot up. "He's already that attuned to her?"

I nodded. "Apparently."

Sue stood up quickly. "Jacob, sit down. Even though you're awake, you must be exhausted."

I sat down in the chair she offered. "Thanks. Wow, I am saying that a lot tonight."

"Such is appreciation." She smiled. "Now, are you hungry? I'm sure Esme, Bella, and I could whip something up."

"Oh, no, you don't have to," I said, rocking Jules. Her smile returned when I looked down at her.

"Wow," I heard at my shoulder. It was Shelby. "I heard she had your mother's eyes. They're amazing, Jake."

A snort followed that. "Yeah, Jake. So amazing that you're gonna have to follow her everywhere to keep the boys away from her."

Morgan was standing back with Lucas near the door that led outside. She was grinning. Lucas rubbed her shoulders.

Growling slightly, I narrowed my eyes at her. "Maybe I'll make that your job."

She shrugged. "With Will as protective as he already seems to be? Yeah, right. He'd kick my ass for doing his job."

I nodded. "That's true. I have a feeling even her imprint will have a tough time getting to her with both me and Will to get through."

"Aww, Jake, you wouldn't that tough on the guy –or girl- would you?" she asked with a grin.

"Hey, the imprint always has a choice, which means he could be a douche. If neither I nor Will thinks he's good enough for her, then guess what? She'll be smart enough to know what's good for her. Ness and I will raise them that way."

Somewhere in the house, a crying started. After a moment, it started to get louder and closer. Edward appeared a minute later with Will. He was not a happy camper. The pacifier hung from the cord that was attached to his clothes. His face was red with crying. But the moment his eyes hit Jules, the tears slowed and he calmed. It was so eerie to see that level of understanding in my ten month old son.

I looked to Charlie. "Would you like to hold her? I'll take Will."

Charlie took her from me, cradling her in his arms. I got up to get Will from Edward. He came to me, gripping my shirt and looking over my shoulder to keep his eyes on his sister.

"Are you hungry, buddy? Your schedule's been thrown off." Lifting him up, I sniffed him. Diaper was okay.

"I changed him before bringing him down," Edward said with an amused smile.

"Hey," I said, "sniffing is better than sticking my hand down his diaper." I went for the fridge. Someone had put his premade food in the fridge for us. When I closed the door, though, he was still looking at the fridge like there was something in there he wanted more than his food. Opening the door once more, I saw that there was a container of blood on the shelf. I took it down, deciding to test to see if he'd drink more than a couple of drops from my finger.

As a parent, there were a lot of things you learned how to do. Working with one hand while your child was sitting on the other arm was one of them. I'd perfected the art of preparing his food quickly. There were just some days he didn't want to let me or Nessie go. He could be clingy, which was fine. We'd just learned to work around that.

When everything was heated up and ready, Edward helped me carry it to the table. Will's eyes were still fixed on the small glass. I'd only put about a half inch of blood in it. So I lifted that first to his lips. He was big enough to drink from a glass. As I tilted the glass and he drank, I saw Carlisle in the corner watching us and taking notes. I was kind of surprised when Will didn't make me clean out the glass with my finger for the extras. Instead, he sat back against my stomach and focused on his food. Tender pork with cooked carrots and mashed up pears. I really hoped he didn't get used to this. His schedule was going back to normal. And he needed to get used to being separated from Jules. Even though it was cute as hell, they needed to learn to be independent from each other. Thankfully, he hadn't really had any separation issues. But with Jules, that could change. Hopefully, after a few days his fixation would wear off. I could understand them being close. But then again, maybe the children of the alpha mixed with vampire could be a completely new level of protectiveness that none of us were prepared for.

He ate most of his food before his eyes started drooping. That was better. Back to his sleep schedule. Getting up, I turned him around so he was laying his head on my shoulder. Rubbing his back, I walked around rocking him. Everybody was talking in low voices and passing Jules around. Every now and then I would glance at her to see that her eyes were following me and her brother around the room.

When he finally passed out, drooling on my shoulder, I put him back on the pallet and tucking him before going back for Jules. Her lids were heavy and drooping.

"I think we're going to go crash. Edward, if you could watch over Will for me that would be amazing."

"Of course. Go get some sleep. It's been a long night."

I said my good nights and went back up to the room. Jules was out cold by the time I tucked her into the crib. I rolled it over to the side of the bed before I stripped down to my boxers and t-shirt. My body groaned when I climbed in beside Nessie. My arms were still bruised and bloody but I hadn't noticed when I'd been holding my children. And I didn't notice now when I pulled their mother against my chest.

Nessie snuggled into me and mumbled, "How are they?"

I kissed her head. "Perfectly safe and passed out cold. Go back to sleep."

"'Kay. Love you."

"Love you, too, baby."

I glanced back at my daughter. A different sort of protectiveness swept through me. It was different from both Nessie and Will. Something told me that this would be my only baby girl, and that she would definitely be a daddy's girl. I had to protect her differently, but I didn't even know what that meant.

Reaching over, I stroked her cheek. "Sleep tight, baby girl. Daddy's right here."

And that's how I fell asleep. My wife in my arms and my fingers against my daughter's soft skin.

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**I don't care what any of you say, I LOVE THIS CHAPTER! Jacob and Will were so adorable. And this particular story may only have a chapter or two left. Like, I really don't know! We'll see. I LOVE ALL YOU SO MUCH! You are totally amazing. And I write FOR YOU. I actually do care about what you have to say and I do read EACH AND EVERY review. And PM. However you want to talk to me, go for it! Love you! xoxoxoxoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**The LAST chapter of this Pregnancy Story! Holy cow are you guys gonna hate me for the end of this one. Love/hate right here. I am already working on the next one so keep an eye out. May even post tonight. Don't know yet. But...here we are!**

***Disclaimer***

**Please Enjoy!**

* * *

**July**

**RPOV**

Looking over the back of the new couch, I shook my head. Jacob had insisted that we buy a new couch that was super wide and soft. A day after we'd gotten it in the house, I'd found out why.

A week later, I was still shaking my head. Jacob's side was pressed into the back cushions. On his back and snoring softly. Jules was stomach down on his chest passed out cold, her father's large hand on her back. Will was snuggled into his daddy's side, likewise down for the count with his stuffed wolf firmly pressed to his chest. Jacob's trunk of an arm was wrapped around him, keeping him soundly on the couch.

Within the month since Jules had been born, so many things had happened. Not just talking, Will was now walking. Smoothly. Too smoothly. He'd also grown more. Carlisle believed, as did I, that it had something to do with his increased blood intake. When Jacob had told me that he'd actually let Will _drink _blood, I'd been terrified. But then, I'd thought back to that day and Jacob's argument. Will was part vampire. And no matter how small that part, it was still there, still craving blood. So I allowed the continuation.

Another terrifying subject? My daughter's development. She was too big for a one month old baby. Which also explained Will's jump in development. He was keeping up with his sister. Her head was steady on her shoulders, eyes fully focused. When on the floor, she could roll over and push up with her arms. Not for very long, but the action was a huge statement to her accelerated development. But my biggest fear? Her blood intake. Jacob was always the one to give it to her. I shook too much.

Besides, she was definitely a daddy's girl. Every time he came home from work, she'd grin as bright as the sun. Will would run to meet him at the door, and Jules would attempt to crawl to him. Jacob took everything in stride, encouraging the growth.

As did my grandfather. He wasn't concerned with my children's growth rate. He attributed it to the possibility that since both werewolves and vampires were top predators, the young grew fast to avoid being prey. The same way that a baby giraffe was expected to learn how to run moments after birth so as not to become a victim of sharp teeth and hunger. I kept that explanation as a mantra to help calm myself.

Overall, I loved my family. And though I did want that third one from my dreams, I was content with what I had for now. Two babies born in less than a year? A woman needed a breather after that.

Reaching down, I stroked Jacob's face. He was so perfect in the dad role. It also helped that both of his children adored him.

In his sleep, he frowned. A moment later, his eyes opened a little. "You okay? You're crying."

Looking down, I realized he was right. Tears had dripped from my chin to the back of his hand that was spread over Jules's back.

I smiled wiping at my face and gave him the only answer I had. "I'm perfect."

**CadenPOV**

During my life overseas, I'd avoided the covens of witches and the packs that harbored them. They just gave me the shivers because they were so unnatural. At least we'd been human once. Though they couldn't shapeshift – well, most of them at any rate – they still didn't look human. All those unnatural colors unnerved me to the point where I couldn't be around them.

And Mara was no different. Every time she walked into the same room I was in, all I wanted to do was cringe away and lock myself elsewhere.

"…den? Caden!"

Shaking myself, I looked toward Leah. She was sitting beside me on the couch looking worried.

"Yes, luv?"

"Mara was talking to you."

Of course she was. That witch was trying to get under my skin and into my brain just as Carlisle was. Only, Mara was having more success.

Which was irritating. "What?" I snapped to the woman standing in front of the coffee table.

She just crossed her arms under her breasts and lifted an eyebrow. Leah rubbed my shoulder. "Please Caden. You always fight her. Just stop."

I waved a hand. "Well, this is ridiculous." I glared at the woman. "Someone telling me that my memories aren't actually real."

Because that's exactly what she had been spouting ever sense I let her into my head enough to see what I remembered from that awful day. She had repeated over and over that my wolf was protecting me and had created memories that I could deal with. Which was bullshit.

"It is not," she snapped, glaring at me. Whether she answered what I had said or what was in my mind was unclear. Knowing her, probably both. She stalked around the coffee table to put her finger in my face. "You need to get over your pride. When it comes to this…this horrible incident, you are not in charge. The wolf is. He is protecting his host. There is a clear seam in your mind as though there is a trap door in a seemingly solid wall. That is why you are not healing from the wounds, even with Dr. Carlisle's help. You've hidden it down for too long, merely walking the roads before you. But now you've drudged it back up. And that's not good if you don't intend to go through with the healing. Stopping this now could seriously damage you, especially if that door in your mind opens without assistance. Your wolf won't be able to help you this time because this wall is his making in the first place. That was all he was able to do. And that remains the case."

Leah's hand tightened on my shoulder. "You're saying he could go crazy?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

Mara's eyes were unrelenting as she stared at me. "Yes," she said, enunciating the word.

I gritted my teeth. "So why can't I just bury it again?"

She shook her head. Wisps of pale and purple hair fluttered around her face. "You are either being deliberately ignorant or actually stupid."

Baring my teeth at her, I growled in warning. I was still a dominant male through and through.

But she waved the threat away. "Oh, please. Caden, burying this again will be impossible. It's like remembering a memory from when you were young. As an adult your mind can hold onto it longer than your child mind."

"Then my wolf can cover it once more."

"Are you not listening?!" she shouted before taking a deep breath and controlling herself. Her hands were trembling, slightly glowing with deep purple magick. "Now that you know what your wolf did, he will not be able to cover what you have surfaced. It doesn't work in that manner. You were distraught when he covered it all up. Now? You're not. This is dangerous to you."

Suddenly on my feet, I leaned into her. We were both thrust forward, glaring at each other. "Why do you care what happens to me?"

Her white eyes started to shine brighter. "Because this is my home now. Jacob offered me refuge. And I am taking it. I can feel your pain, your wounds. As a healer, it is my job, my calling, to do what is necessary to help you. Especially since this is your home as well, _Omega_."

I jerked as if she'd hit me. In a way she had. I looked back at Leah. Her eyes met mine. "What is she talking about? Does that mean something?"

"Caden," Mara said in a much softer tone. "You and I both know that that place across the sea was not your home. Something, at some point, would have dragged you away from there. No matter what had happened to your family, you'd have still ended up here with your true mate. Even with true mates, though, you could still leave without batting an eyelash, true?"

"What?" Leah said in breathless astonishment. "Caden." She looked to me as if she wanted me to deny it, but I couldn't. After my time with Carlisle, I had wanted nothing more than to disappear. My sorrow didn't belong here with these content people.

"You are a dominant male in your own right, Caden. We all know that. But at heart, you will always be an omega, a lonely wanderer, because of what happened to you. You stay here out of a sense of obligation to repay that which was given to you. But how long before the itch to leave becomes a compulsion? You care nothing for pack politics, and here, they don't ask you to be involved in them. Which should be a blessing for you. You will leave a place that is perfect for you and your true love behind if you do not face what truly happened with your family, Caden. You will lose everything. Omegas are omegas for a reason. For every one of them, the rare few that you make up a part of the population, there is a reason they run alone. This is your reason, and you must face it. If you don't, not only will you suffer, but so will your mate. And by extension, her pack. In this, you will not suffer alone. Not this time. Is that truly what you want?"

When I just sighed, she continued, pressing the advantage she knew she had.

"You tell your mate that you want to give her a family, a good home. And yet, here you are fighting a solution that could give you the peace that your wolf has fought for you to have. You are fighting the possibility because you believe you are unworthy. I am telling you that you are not. You have suffered enough. And I can help you, but you have to let me. I promised Jacob that I would earn my keep. He thinks of you as one of his. You are one of his wolves and he cares for you just as he cares for Seth. I want to help you. Why can't you see that?"

With another sigh, I sat back down next to Leah. By the look in her eyes, I knew I'd be explaining the omega situation with her. I'd never told her what made up one of those types of wolves. Tonight, I supposed, would be the night I spilled. And possibly broke her heart.

If I was going to risk her being angry with her, I might as well agree to try to fix the problem. The truth was, I actually _was _happy here. I liked that neither Jacob nor Walker tried to force me to participate in pack politics, not that there were many with Jacob's pack. They allowed me to run patrols with them, which kept me in shape and close to Leah. And Leah? I loved her something fierce, something deeper than I had ever felt for Alora. I had been sincere when telling her that I wanted a family with her. But terror always gripped my heart when I thought about bringing another child into the world with a mate I loved more than my own life.

Looking back up to Mara, I nodded. "Alright. How do we start?"

Her grin was triumphant but also overjoyed. Leah gripped my hands tightly and also smiled.

When a man was willing to face his deepest fears for the woman he loved, he usually knew that he had lost the war when it came to his limits to please her and make her happy.

With this acceptance, I faced my defeat, prepared to beat down the limitations I thought I'd had.

**JPOV**

A phone ringing jerked me out of sleep. Subconsciously, I knew my children were wrapped around me, forcing my movements to be small and tight. Sure enough, when I cracked my eyelids, I found Jules sprawled on my chest. My other arm found Will tucked into my side.

The both of them jerked awake when the phone rang again. Gripping them both to me, I sat up. Will crawled into my lap so he could be closer to Jules. When we'd first brought her home, he'd fought and cried to stay close to her. I'd given in and brought the other crib down into the nursery. He'd calmed instantly. But after about a week, he began to let me take him upstairs to nap in the playpen. And then, eventually, I was able to move the crib back upstairs. Nessie had been a little nervous at leaving him up there alone, but I assured her he was fine, especially when I could show her with the visual baby monitor.

Jules, at only one month, slept through the night peacefully, well into the late morning hours. She was learning quickly. And just yesterday, I thought I felt a tooth starting to grow in. Will had also sped up his growing pains. He had all of his teeth, was walking soundly, even running, and had added at least five more words to his vocab, including the ever popular "no".

"Hello?" Nessie answered after the third ring. There was a pause before… "Oh, Paul! That's wonderful!...Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just breathe…Look, Jake and I will pack up the kids and get down there as soon as we can, alright?"

Tucking Jules against my chest with one arm, I used the other to scoop Will up so he was sitting in the crook of the other and stood up. Nessie had just up the phone and turned to us.

Her face was radiant with joy. "Oh good. You're all awake." She rushed forward and took Will who reached out for her. It was good to see her not pregnant even though she was still working off the baby weight. She was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen though. Her long hair had recently been layered, so even though a braid roped down her spine, some of it still hung forward into her face as "bangs".

"Was that about Rachel?"

She nodded. "Mhm, she went into labor a few hours ago. Paul called to tell me that she was nearly ready to push out your niece." Squealing with joy she turned around, and ran upstairs, probably to change Will and gather some his things.

I looked down at Jules who was staring up at me with a grin. She reached up to grab at my lips. I took her arm and made kissing noises on her palm. "Looks like we gotta get you together, baby girl. Your cousin is on her way."

Going downstairs, I changed her diaper, put her in some new clothes and packed up a bag. Ness still wasn't back downstairs by the time I went back up so I also packed up food, bottles, and sippy cups. As well as every pacifier I could find. Last but not least were the stuffed animals. Jules was fond of the Tigger someone had bought her. Pretty sure it had been Walker, Christa, and Haleigh. Jules had a stuffed wolf like her brother's but she wasn't as attached to it as the bouncy tiger.

I pretty much packed everything, preparing to stay the night. Ness and I had some extra clothes left down there. This time we were the ones who got to watch the kidlets while Paul got to be in my position. Luckily, Rachel was human and not as strong as Nessie. Paul wasn't heading for multiple broken bones. Maybe a couple popped muscles. But I doubted my sister would do the kind of damage that my wife had. Which I was still healing from by the way.

A minute later, Nessie flew down the stairs. Will was laughing and grinning up at his shining mother. And I couldn't blame the kid.

"Ready?" she asked breathlessly.

I nodded and drew the bags onto my shoulder. Nessie went around turning off lights. Before we headed out, we both pulled our kids' blankets around them. Though it was July, Forks was perpetually rainy and chilly. Today was no different. Once they were bundled up, we locked up the house and went for the truck. Nessie and I were shopping for an SUV to have more room. With two kids, we had tons of crap.

Nessie smiled at me across the cab while we buckled them in. I put Jules on the passenger side. Will went on my side. It was just how we did it. When I'd said that Nessie had her momma's boy and I just needed my daddy's girl, I'd been joking. But now, after we'd gotten her home, that's how it had been. Jules loved Nessie, don't get me wrong. She adored her mother. But on my days off and after I got home from work, she was my buddy. Both kids would sit with me on the couch, watching football or fights or, hell, Disney movies. That new one with the talking snowman was popular in the house right now. Even with Will, though I think he liked the reindeer better. Not surprising.

Finally I couldn't help but grin back at her. "What?"

"This is adorable. I mean, you were cute with Will, but with your daughter? I am one lucky woman."

I frowned. "She loves you, Ness."

She laughed. "I know that, Jacob. But I know who she's going to run to first when her problems aren't 'girl problems', if you know what I mean."

It still bothered me, though.

Sighing, she shut the cab door and then the front door before walking back over to the passenger side. She wrapped her arms around my waist. "Baby, I know our kids are going to have preferences. Most kids do."

"Do you?"

She shrugged. "Though I love my mother immensely, I am a daddy's girl. It's the feeling of safety. And momma's boys? They like to feel protective. And it's okay. I know my kids love me and I know they both love you. Just in different ways."

Wrapping my arms around her, it was good to envelop her without worrying about a baby bump between us. Squeezing her, I popped her off her feet and pressed my lips to hers. I felt her grin against my mouth as her arms wound around my neck.

"Mmm, you know, maybe your parents could watch the kids while we come back up here for some mommy and daddy time," I said against her mouth.

Her grin widened again. "You do realize your sister is having a baby, right?"

I nodded. "Mhm, and she'll have to sleep sometime afterward."

"Why don't we wait to see how everything goes first."

"Deal."

One last kiss and then she was sliding down my body to hop into the truck. Before I slid in, I rearranged my pants. Nessie was grinning as if she knew what she'd done to me.

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of the Cullen house. Charlie's civilian car was already parked out front. No doubt he and Sue had gone to pick up Billy. I would have done it if I'd known. And Charlie would have strong-armed me saying that I had two kids in my backseat. Shaking my head, I thought that it was sad that I already knew how that argument would turn out when it hadn't even happened. Rebecca and Tom were also already here. They hadn't been here long given the warm ticking coming from their car.

Instead of the whole "I'll grab my kid, you grab yours", I hopped out of the truck and got Will from his car seat. Nessie cradled Jules to her chest, giving her the pacifier attached to her shirt. I watched them as they moved toward the porch. With Jules's accelerated growth, her hair had grown out in a bunch of curls radiating around her shoulders. Curls that matched her mother's. They were the same bronze, too. Only my daughter's was shot through with black and dark reds. Probably came from me.

Jules was currently playing with Nessie's hair, the strands that were down around her shoulders. Peeking through them, she smiled at me over Nessie's shoulder through the pacifier. In my arms, Will jumped excitedly, laughing through his own paci and waved back at her. God, it made my chest ache with hopes that they'd stay close as they got older.

"Ju! Ju!"

I stared at my son. He was trying to say his sister's name. Nessie turned to stare at him, too. Jules turned in her arms to keep eye contact with Will. She grinned wider.

As much as I was enjoying the family time, a pain-filled scream echoed through the house. Getting our groove on, Nessie and I booked it up the porch and into the house. Tom, Billy, and Charlie were sitting in the living room. Billy looked nervous and like he was doing breathing exercises. Nessie must have noticed, too, because she handed him Jules to hold. With the distraction of his granddaughter, he started to calm down.

"I'm going to go check on her to give you guys an update."

I nodded as I flopped onto the loveseat with Will. "Yeah, thanks." I turned to the guys. "So who's up there with her besides Paul and Carlisle?"

It was Tom who answered. "Becca, Esme, and Mara. Edward's standing outside just in case. And I suppose now Nessie's up there."

I looked over at Billy who still seemed nervous. "Dad, she's fine. She'll be alright."

He nodded absently but not like he believed it. "It's just…the pain, Jake."

"I know, Dad. But with Mara in there, she's in good hands. Nessie did it. Twice. In less than a year."

His eyes met mine over my daughter's head. "I know that, son. But Nessie's stronger than Rachel. It's just a fact. Her pain threshold is higher."

"If my mother was strong enough to push out two girls within minutes of each other, and then still want me, then Rachel, with Paul, can do this. Like Nessie said, she's a Black and Paul's wife. She can do this."

Again, he nodded, but not like he believed it. A worried frown still pulled at his eyebrows as another scream tore through the house. I had to admit that my chest did tighten. He was right. Nessie was built stronger than my human sister. Besides, Nessie hadn't really screamed like that. She'd yelled but them clenched her teeth and bore down.

Footsteps on the stairs had all of us looking up. It was Becca who flopped down next to her husband. I briefly wondered where Henry was before she started talking

"Man, Jake. That wife of yours is fantastic. You couldn't have picked a better woman to imprint."

Chuckling, I nodded. "Tell me something I don't already know. Like how's Rach?"

She blew out a breath. "Tired. She just started pushing right before Ness walked in the room. Mara gave her the tea and is trying to take some of the pain as we go. That woman is freaky. All that white and purple."

Surprise raised my eyebrows. "You know what she looks like?"

She and Tom both nodded. "Yup. That was so weird how her fake appearance just melted. Still not sure if I actually saw it happen."

Gripping Will tighter, I said, "Oh you did. Trust me. It is freaky."

"I can't believe witches actually exist," Charlie said as Sue came in with a beer for him.

Tom nodded in agreement after taking a pull on his own can that Sue had handed him.

Becca clapped her palms on her thighs. "Well, I just came out to update and get some air. Gotta get back in there or she'll kill me."

In moments, she was up the stairs. Another scream made all of us wince. Over the minutes, members of the pack filtered through the house, checking in on Rach and giving me updates on patrols. Seth and Shelby stuck around for a while, though. Brayden was hanging out with his grandfather for the day. And I found out that Henry was down with Sam and Emily. No doubt he was doting over Leila.

A few minutes later, Christa and Walker walked in hand in hand, Haleigh skipping in front of them. I was closest to the door so Haleigh stopped at me first, giving Will and kiss on the cheek. He grinned when he whipped around and saw her. He made a move like he wanted down.

I looked at Haleigh. "You gonna watch him?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, Uncle Jacob."

I let him slide to the floor. He stayed on his feet and took Haleigh's outstretched hand. She led him over to where Charlie was holding Jules.

Christa flopped down next to me and clapped her hand on my knee. "You make some cute kids, Jake."

I laughed. "Thanks. I'm pretty sure Sue said that to me the night Jules was born."

"She's so big already," Walker said, leaning on the arm next to Christa. Haleigh and Will had crowded around Charlie's knees where he'd laid Jules out. She was grinning out at her brother as she usually did. Her pacifier was hanging down to the side. And before I could catch him, Will had taken his own out to give to her.

I sighed in defeat.

Everybody else laughed.

"Is that normal?" Walker asked still chuckling.

"With those two? Yes. They share everything, except their stuffed toys.

Billy shrugged. "At least they get along now. Saving the beating for when they're older."

"Thanks for the support, Dad," I said dryly. I looked up at Walker. "So what are you guys up to today?"

"Well, we were actually wondering if the Cullens would let us borrow the huge trailer that hitches to the truck."

"Why?"

Christa and Walker shared a look. It was Christa who said, "We're moving out to the cabins with Walker's – I mean, _our _– pack. We were going to sell the house and move out there. Hopefully get a lot of it packed today." She looked at me. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

I gave her a look. "Why wouldn't it be? Christa, you're mated to a guy with his own pack. What am I going to do? Say no?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's just…good to make sure."

"I'm not that bipolar," I muttered.

Billy coughed into his hand.

I glared at him. "That's enough out of you, old man."

While everyone laughed, Alice and Jasper appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. She was grinning at me. "You can be sometimes, Jake." She clapped her hands. "Now where's my niece?" As if she didn't already know.

Smiling, Charlie held Jules out to her. After Alice had her in her arms, she sat down on the floor so that Will and Haleigh could still visit. Not that Will didn't live in the same house.

Jasper came to stand with us. He turned to Walker. "You may use the trailer. I can help you get it set up if you like."

Walker grinned. "Sure. That would be great."

The two headed out the door just as Nessie ran down the stairs, a huge grin on her face.

"It's a girl!" she shouted unnecessarily.

The room cheered. Both Will and Jules giggled up at their mother.

Nessie went to hug Billy. "She wants to see you. And Jake."

Billy looked surprised. "Is she ready for that?"

"Apparently."

Standing up, I went over to Billy. Edward was there a moment later. Wrapping one of Billy's arms around my shoulders, I wrapped my free one around his waist and started hauling him up the stairs. Edward brought up the wheelchair. Once we were at the landing, Edward unfolded the chair and I sat Billy down. He rearranged himself before I opened the door.

Rachel looked a lot like Nessie had, only Paul wasn't on the bed. He was standing next to it, holding his newborn daughter. Though he and I had had our issues, especially in the beginning, all of that would have evaporated quicker if I had been transported to this moment to see the way he looked at my sister and their new daughter. Staring in awe at the tiny bundle in his arms, he walked around the room.

"Daddy," Rachel said in exhaustion.

While Billy rolled over to the bedside, I went for Paul. He looked up in surprise as I stood in front of him.

"I can't believe she's actually here," he whispered.

I looked down at my niece. She was squished and pudgy just like Will and Jules had been. She had a patch of pitch black hair. According to Billy, all the Black kids were born with hair. She was asleep in her father's arms, no doubt warm and protected.

"What did you name her?" I whispered.

"Ava Elizabeth."

"That's beautiful, man. Suits her."

"Thanks. Man, I don't know if I can do this. It seems so surreal that I'm a dad now."

I laugh softly. "Yeah I definitely know what you mean. I'm a dad twice now."

He looked up at me with panic in his eyes. "What if I can't do this, Jake? What if I'm terrible?"

Reaching up, I gripped his shoulder. "Listen to me. All these years, you've taken care of my sister. And this baby girl? She's not wailing in your arms, is she? No. She's fast asleep. You and Rachel made her. Therefore, you're hers. No matter what. Trust me. I'm terrified about my own kids, too. But let me tell you something that Nessie told me. Those parents that are scared are good parents. I believe that. We'll grow with our kids. As we teach them, they'll teach us."

Under my hand, I felt him take a deep breath. "I might need some advice."

I laughed again. "Dude, we're a pack. We take care of each other. All of us who already have kids will be more than happy to help."

"Jake? What are you two doing over there?"

Turning, I plastered a smile on my face. Rachel was sitting up as I strode over to her. She held her arms out and I hugged her gently. "How ya feelin'?"

She flopped back against the bed. "Ness was definitely right about labor. It got _all _my attention."

Laughing, I sat on the edge of the bed. "She's beautiful, Rach. I'm proud of you. Did Mara take care of you?"

She nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Please tell me we're keeping her."

"Yeah, we are."

Her eyes closed as her breathing deepened. "Good. That's…good."

Leaning forward, I kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

She smiled but kept her eyes closed. "Thanks, Jake. I love you."

"Love you, too. Dad and I are gonna head out, alright? Call if you need anything."

Her nodded was weak and barely there, already soaked with sleep. After I covered her with the blankets, I turned to find Billy cradling his newest grandbaby.

"I can't believe it," he whispered. "Two granddaughters and two grandsons." He sighed when he handed her back to Paul. He turned to me. "Come on, son. Let's give them some private time."

I nodded to Paul before Billy and I left. Outside the door, Billy stopped and hung his head. A moment later, I smelled the saltiness of tears. Knowing he was thinking about Mom, I gripped his shoulder. His hand came up to grip my fingers.

"It's okay, Dad," I choked out. "She's watching. I know she is."

His body continued to move with his silent tears. All the while, I stood there, being his strength. Though losing him would kill a part of me, I knew that he would be relieved when his final days arrived. He'd missed her too much and for far too long. Though it would hurt me to the point of breaking, I knew that I'd let him go knowing he was happy about the end of his life.

**One Year Later…**

**RPOV**

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Turning, I found Will gripping my leg and pointing.

"What is it, baby?"

"Juse, Juse!"

I frowned. "Juice?"

He shook his head and frowned. "Juse!"

Looking up, I realized he was pointing into the living room and talking about his sister. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I moved around the couch to look down at my daughter. She'd climbed up onto the coffee table again to get to the remote. Pressing a button, she turned on the TV.

"Jules," I said in a stern voice. She looked up at me with a grin. Picking her up, I tried really hard to keep my expression stern. "No, Jules. You can't keep climbing the table." As punishment, I put her in the playpen before turning off the TV.

Sure enough, she started crying and screaming. The playpen had become time-out because both of them were too big to be in it to actually play. They liked to run around the house. All entrances to the stairs were blocked off with baby gates and the front door stayed locked.

"Mama!" she wailed through her tears.

And as usual, Will sat next to the pen. "Otay, Juse. Otay." He always tried to soothe her when she was in trouble. Out of the two of them, my daughter was troublemaker.

"William," I said. When he looked up at me, I said, "Go play. Your sister is in time-out. She doesn't get to play."

He pouted, slouching and looking at the floor.

"Go on, William. Go play."

"Otay, Mommy."

He got up and went to find his toy cars and dinosaurs. Jules kept screaming. It was naptime anyway so I turned on the docking station and flipped my iPod to the soothing sounds that I'd found. They were on for only five minutes before she began to calm down. Her long curls were frazzled around her small body. She'd sat down and pouted just like Will had. A few sniffles. Rubbed her eyes. Ten minutes in, she was laying down on her side. I grabbed her Tigger from the couch and put it in with her. Staring down at her, it was so hard to believe that she had just turned a year old. Will was nearly two. Both of them were developed at least a year beyond their actual age. It scared me at first, but then the growing slowed down to a point that I could handle.

Over the year, Shelby had had Piper. She was a healthy seven month old baby with a very protective big brother. Brayden was nearing three years old but acted five. He was as handsome as his father and as stubborn as his mother.

Jacob and I had a perfect relationship. He worked full time. Part of the time at home, which was the agreement. He still worked his three days in the garage. The rest, the at home part, was on the computer with bills and such. Frank had finally opened the new shop in Forks. Embry was head of that one. After everything had been settled, Frank retired, giving both shops to both men. We managed the steamy time when both kids were down for the count. Our lives had settled. And now, I was just waiting to get pregnant again. I knew it was coming, just not when. Not that I was excited to be pregnant again. I just wanted my family completed. After the next round, I was thinking about having my tubes tied. Three babies were enough. I doubted there would be more after they were grown with families of their own or wherever life took them. Jacob agreed. Just because we'd be living a long time that didn't mean that we had to keep reproducing.

Speaking of Jacob. The door made the unlocking sounds just before he walked through.

"Daddy!" Will stood up and ran for him.

Grinning Jacob scooped him up and threw him into the air. "Hey, big guy! Were you good for Mommy today?"

He nodded once he was settled against his father's chest. And then he frowned. "No Juse."

Jacob frowned. "No juice?"

"Not Jules," I answered walking over to them.

Jacob wrapped me with his free arm to his side. "Not Jules, huh?" He kissed me before looking over to the playpen. Luckily she was still out. "Naptime. In the playpen. What did she do now?"

I rolled my eyes. "Same as always. Climbed the coffee table." He chuckled and I frowned at him. "We didn't have this problem with him," I said nodding to Will.

Jacob kissed my temple. "Not yet. We gotta wait until he gets older for that."

"What do you mean?"

"Trees, my lovely wife. Boys like trees."

"Great," I grumbled. Smoothing my hand down his chest, I asked, "So why are you home at lunch?"

"Daddy, play," Will said trying to wiggle free.

Jacob put him on his feet and he ran for his trucks again. We both laughed before going into the kitchen. "I was just making a sandwich. You want one?"

"Absolutely. I'm starving."

While I went to work, he sat down with a groan. His t-shirt was stained here and there with grease and oil. "So why are you home early?"

He chuckled. "Waiting for the mailman?"

I shot him a glare over my shoulder.

He grinned. "Nah, I promoted Xavier. He's assistant manager now. So he's closing up shop."

"So you finally decided, huh?"

"Yeah, I figured that he's young and wants to settle with Shannon. Might as well help him out. That way, if he wants to get out on his own, he has experience to swing around. The other guys aren't leaving the rez of Forks. Besides, the money will also help with his pack if that's where he wants to put it."

I set his plate in front of him and then went for the jug of water. "Well, that was sweet of you. I'm sure he likes having the extra money."

Jacob nodded before taking a bite. "Oh yeah. He told me that he's saving up for a truck. Though he's appreciative, he hates borrowing ours. I told him it was okay because we have the Escalade now, but he wants his own. And I get it. And independent kid."

"He is sweet. Have you talked to Derek or Adam?"

"Yeah. They're really excited about the trip. Rhett is working on teaching them the way to travel with the other packs around."

"Where are they going first?"

"Chile, I think. I gave them all an order to stay away from Italy. Pretty sure they agree."

I sat down with my own sandwich and nodded. "Good idea."

A moment later, Will appeared at Jacob's elbow, tugging on his sleeve. Jacob opened his arms to let Will crawl into his lap. Then he opened his mouth.

Jacob sighed. "Use your words, big guy. What do you want?"

"'Ammich."

"Good man." Jacob squished down a small corner so Will could get his mouth around it. Will took his bite and chewed thoughtfully. Then we watched as he got down and went to the stool I kept close to the counter for when he helped me to cook. He opened the refrigerator before moving the stool over. Climbing up, he reached for the pickles. When he brought them to the table, I scooted the jar away from the edge while he went back to move the stool and close the fridge.

Then he was back to climbing into Jacob's lap. He grabbed the jar and tried to open it. When he couldn't, Jacob did for him. Will took off the top piece of bread before digging his hand into the pickle jar. Juice dripped from his hand onto the table as he moved a tiny handful of the pickle chips to the sandwich. Shockingly, he arranged them neatly so that pickles covered the entirety of the sandwich.

When he placed the bread back on top, he pointed at it and looked at Jacob. "'Ammich."

In shock, Jacob picked it up, squished a corner down, and held it to Will's mouth. Will took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and then grinned up at his daddy.

I let out a surprised laugh. "Apparently it's not a sandwich without pickles."

Jacob blinked down at his son. "Clearly."

They took turns polishing off the sandwich before Will climbed down and went for the front door. "Swing, Daddy! Swing!"

Jacob and some of the other guys had made swings of different sizes to hang on the trees around the lake and cabins. When Jacob was home, that was one of Will's favorite things to do with his father.

"Daddy!"

This time we looked over to Jules. She was standing in the playpen, her hair a mane of curls around her shoulders. She was pouting with her Tigger tucked to her side. Those aqua eyes looked up at Jacob with such pitiful unhappiness that he couldn't help but get out of the chair and pick her up,

I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"Hey, baby girl." She curled around him, her head under his chin. She sniffled pitifully. "You wanna go outside and swing with big brudder?" She couldn't say "brother" yet and had started calling Will her "brudder".

She nodded against his chest.

He gave me a huge, proud grin. I shook my head.

Before he could scoop up Will, there was a frantic knock on the door.

"Hold on, buddy," Jake said to Will. "Stay by me." Will stepped back to grip Jacob's jeans, hiding behind his leg. Jacob looked through the peephole and frowned over his shoulder at me.

"Who is it?"

Opening the door, he revealed Tricia. And she did not look happy. Not exactly upset, but there was worried frown between her eyes.

"Tricia?" I said, getting up from the table.

She smiled briefly at Jake, Jules, and Will before slipping past them. "Nessie, I really need to talk to you. Please."

Raising my eyebrows, I looked at Jacob. He shrugged before putting his hand on Will's head. "Alright, buddy. Let's go swing. Give Mommy and Aunt Tricia some privacy."

The moment the door shut behind them, she released a huge breath and sank into a kitchen chair, putting her face in her hands. Pulling out a chair, I sat down across from her.

"What is it? Has something happened?"

When she looked up at me, her eyes were a sizzling, electric blue filled with…anxiety. "I…I can't take it anymore. It just keeps going around and around in my head and I can't stand it!"

Leaning forward, I gripped her hand firmly in mine. "Stand what?"

What she said next nearly froze the blood in veins.

"Death."

At first, I just stared at her.

"Tricia, what are you talking about? Did something happen?"

She clapped her free hand to her forehead. "Embry," she moaned. "He…he talked to me about how he'll have to stop phasing to age with me, like Sam with Emily. Th-that he now has to really think about providing for our kids, should we have any, after he _dies_. And _then_, he said he doesn't care about him dying. Just that, he hopes he goes first so he won't have live without me! I mean, at first, I just went with it, accepting it. But then, I started having dreams of him dying first. The pain, Nessie." Tears flowed down her flushed face. "The pain. I just can't stand it. The thought of it. I thought I was okay with someday dying, with being human. Everybody dies, but…but I need longer with him."

I was having trouble breathing and my heart was going a mile a minute. There would only be one reason she'd come to me about this: to find a way to change her circumstances.

"What are you saying?" I whispered, praying she didn't say what I knew was going to come out of her mouth.

Her eyes, when they lifted to mine, were so full of determination that I felt like cowering in the face of the force of it.

"I want to be a werewolf."

**The End...For now**

**Stay tuned for our next bundle of joy!**

* * *

***Clears throat* Yes, yes I know. Some of you are screaming at me through your computer. I can already feel it. But I LOVE YOU! MUAH! XOXOXOXOX**


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